


Hospital Days

by nblkolt



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), Awesome Pepper Potts, Gen, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark are Siblings, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Uncle Happy Hogan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21680362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nblkolt/pseuds/nblkolt
Summary: Peter meets Morgan while visiting a comatose Tony in the hospital. She keeps insisting he is her brother and he doesn't know how to break it to her he is not.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 127
Kudos: 575





	1. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan finds her brother in the hospital.

The first time Peter met Morgan, he thought he was hallucinating. He was so tired sitting next to Tony's bed in the hospital and was just about to doze off when he heard the door handle shift and turned his head that had been resting in his palm to see a little girl peek around the corner in red pajamas. His lip quirked up in a small smile when he saw the tiny Iron Man helmets and Arc Reactors all over them.

In the back of his mind, he knew who Morgan was. He heard Pepper and Happy talking about her those first few days in the hospital right after the battle at the compound and remembered being surprised (and maybe a little shocked) that Tony had a daughter. It wasn't that he didn't think Tony could ever be a dad. He knew he was a great dad because - 

He just knew.

Peter had tried to be by Tony's bedside as much as possible. Since the whole world was still in chaos with the return of half the population, he had been helping May with her outreach program for everyone that had been displaced during the day, then would get a few hours in as Spider-Man and finally stop by the hospital afterwards before heading home. School wasn't a factor yet because it had only been a month and the academic system had not yet figured out how to deal with twice the student populace. It was usually late evening when he arrived and Pepper had already taken Morgan home. It hadn't been a conscious decision on anyone's part for the kids to have not met - it just hadn't happened with everyone focused on getting the world functioning again. Sometimes Peter would run into Rhodey or Happy keeping vigil, but tonight it was just him.

Tony looked the same as he always did. He was positioned on his back with his left arm laid out to his side, palm down. An empty sleeve hung on the right side of his body. The doctors had tried to salvage the limb the first two weeks after, but the tissue had quickly turned necrotic and there was so much nerve damage, amputation had been the best option to lessen the chances of a systemic infection. The burns on the side of his face had healed and scared. Now it was just a waiting game to see when he would open his eyes. He was still attached to a wide variety of different monitoring equipment and had a couple of IV lines and other catheters and tubes since his body needed to be supplied nutrition. At least he had come off the ventilator.

The little girl paused mid-step on her way to Tony's bedside when she saw Peter. She didn't look startled, just curious and cocked her head to the side slightly, contemplating. Peter didn't know what expression he had on his sleep deprived face but it must not have been an unpleasant one because suddenly, the little girl's face broke out into a toothy grin and she whispered, "Hello, Peter."

"Oh, um, hello. Uh, how do you know my name?" Peter sat up in his chair some and glanced towards Tony as if the sudden appearance of a preschooler would rouse the man from his coma. The man didn't stir and all the monitors around him continued to beep with the rise and fall of his chest. Just like they had been for the past month.

The little girl had slowly edged her way forward until she was right next to Peter's chair and was gripping the armrest next to his elbow. Peter looked down at her and hesitantly smiled - he didn't know who she was but he had no reason not to be friendly to a little kid.

She continued to smile and stare at him and said in her whisper voice, "Because you're my brother."

Well that certainly wasn't the answer he was expecting.

"Oh, I'm-I'm not - I don't - Wait. Is your name Morgan?" It was as though his brain finally woke up. Because what other random little girl would wander into this specific hospital room than Tony's kid? 

As if it was possible, her smile grew, and she nodded her head. "Are you keeping Daddy company?"

"Yes, I thought I would sit with him for a bit. Where is your mom?"

"Mommy's sleeping." Oh boy. Peter knew Pepper had been spending most of her time at the hospital and would occasionally spend the night at one of the family facilities nearby with Morgan if she was too weary to make the trip home. She, like May, had been trying to help arrange some relief for people when not at the hospital with Tony so her days were also long and exhausting.

"Does she know you are here?" 

She stared at him. "Mommy's sleeping," she repeated.

That would be a no. Peter took out his phone and quickly texted Pepper "Morgan's with me" less she should wake panicked when she saw her daughter is missing. Peter glanced at Tony one more time before looking back at Morgan who was now staring sadly at her dad with her fingers still gripped on the arm rest of his chair. Peter gently touched one of her hands to get her attention.

"Why don't we go find her?"

Her bottom lip puckered out in response as she slightly whined, "But I want to stay with Daddy."

Hmm. He could negotiate with a kid. He was a kid once. He sure doesn't feel like a kid after everything that has happened. He just felt tired. All the time.

"How about we go find your mommy and let her know you're okay, and then you can come back up here with me if she approves?"

Morgan chewed on this for a moment before her face relaxed and she seemed to decide that wasn't the worst idea. She nodded, " 'Kay."

Peter smiled and got up from his chair and said softly in Tony's direction, "Be right back, Mr. Stark," before walking with Morgan towards the door.

Morgan put her hand in Peter's (much to his surprise) as she looked over her shoulder and whispered "Bye Daddy."

Right as they were about to walk out the door, Peter noticed Morgan was barefoot. He stopped their trek and inquired, "Um, where are your shoes?"

"In the room with Mommy." 

Right. Okay.

"Well, I don't know for sure, but I feel like you're not supposed to walk barefoot in hospitals, so would you be okay if I carried you?"

Morgan already had her arms upstretched towards him before he even finished his sentence with a huge smile on her face. He slightly stooped to pick her up under the arms then settled her on his hip with his arms linked under her bottom as she lightly gripped the front of his sweater. Peter felt oddly touched that she was so trusting with him. Maybe she just wasn't timid around strangers.

As they moved in silence down the hall towards the elevator, Peter felt Morgan gently touch the side of his face. He turned his head and once they made eye contact, she dropped her hand back down to make a fist in his sweater, scrunched her eyebrows and asked, "Why did you call Daddy 'Mr. Stark'?"

Peter didn't know what to say to that. He assumed Morgan was at an age that she understood that you're supposed to address adults by their last name, but maybe she didn't really see her parents interact with anyone they weren't on a first name basis with? Did she go to school? He realized he didn't know much about Morgan at all outside of her being Pepper and Tony's kid. And that she apparently inherited her dad's stealth skills (How did no one see her walk all the way to the opposite side of the hospital?).

Peter settled on the simplest answer as he smiled at her.

"Because that's his name."

Morgan giggled at him like he had just said a joke and stated, "But he's our Daddy."

Peter tripped over nothing when he heard her as if his brain shut down and forgot basic functions like walking and stumbled a step. He brought one arm up secure against Morgan's back to steady her. Morgan didn't seem fazed by his sudden clumsiness.

Brother. Daddy. Where was she getting this? Who had said…? Maybe Mr. Stark had mentioned him but… he wouldn't have said he was her brother. Maybe she had just gotten confused.

They had just reached the elevator so Peter stopped for a moment. Morgan seemed to be leaning slightly away from him and he smiled as he realized she was leaning towards the arrows to go up. He stepped closer and tilted her safely in his arms so she could push the button. She smiled at him after she had reached out to accomplish her goal then melted back into his side with her head on his shoulder. 

He didn't want Morgan to think he was ignoring her question but he didn't know what to say. She was obviously convinced they were siblings so he didn't want to upset her by denying it, but he also wanted to be honest with her (and maybe less confused himself…?).

"Mr. Stark is your dad, but he isn't my dad. My dad died a long time ago," he explained softly.

She was back to her confused look. "I know your other Daddy and Mommy died. That's why you live with Auntie May. Daddy 'splained to me."

Peter now shared her confused look. Then why did she insist…? The elevator chimed before he could get too lost in his thoughts and he stepped into it and situated himself in the corner as other people hurried to pile in after him. Morgan kind of warily looked at their co-occupants as she tightened her grip on Peter's shirt which he found strange as the people they were with were as non-threatening as they come. Plus, his Spidey sense hadn't made a peep. Hmm. Maybe a small hum. But that could just be his own anxiety. In an effort to comfort her, he shifted her to his other hip so his body was between her and everyone else and he felt her relax back against him. 

"What floor?" 

Peter turned to look at the origin of the voice and saw a little grandmother holding a gift bag with a teddy bear head poking out of it smiling next to him. 

"Oh, um, five, thank you."

A tall man near the panel pushed it for him.

"Thanks." The man nodded without turning around.

The grandmother was still smiling at him. "I saw you were preoccupied and didn't want you to miss your floor," she said as her gaze shifted to Morgan. Morgan hid her face in Peter's neck. Peter brought his hand up to cup the back of her head before he even knew what he was doing. "She must be shy," the elderly woman said knowingly. Peter didn't know what to say to that - yes? Sometimes? Only in elevators? Morgan had only met him 15 minutes ago and was suddenly part koala. He said nothing and just kind of gave a closed lip smile as he gently swayed back and forth with Morgan. "Lucky little girl to have such a good big brother," the woman winked at him as the elevator dinged and she exited to the floor.

Well, of course people would assume they were siblings. People usually don't carry random kids around. But that doesn't mean anything. At least she hadn't assumed he was a teen dad.

Once the elevator chimed for the fifth floor, Peter squeezed his way out the doors with a few quiet "Excuse me, sorry"-s and started the path towards the family common area. Morgan turned her head on his shoulder to watch their surroundings while she absent-mindedly played with the collar of his sweater with one hand. 

Hospitals were over run without the patients they had to care for to begin with, so adding in millions more wasn't making things any easier. Where as normally Tony would have had his own private suite, they were needing to utilize extra rooms for patients so the family room adjoined to his had been turned into a medical ward. The fifth floor still had all the family rooms available for those that needed a break from long days at the hospital with activities for kids and cots to try to get some rest. Pepper had told him about it on one of his first few days back when they were all running ragged incase he needed a place to crash. He still had his bed in May's apartment, but he thinks Pepper saw the panic in his face when she suggested he get some rest at home right after he had dragged himself into Tony's room after a rough patrol and decided to give him an alternative so he didn't have to be too far from Tony should anything change. He had thanked her for the information and then promptly fell asleep on the chair next to Tony's bed after a few minutes. He had awoken sometime later with a blanket over him and a note on the table next to him to "get some real rest in a bed" with Pepper's cell phone number and the promise he would be the first to know after her if there were any changes in Tony's condition. 

The doctors didn't know if he would ever wake up. There were still signs of brain function but after all his body had endured, the recovery was going to be a long process. And Peter knew that there would be a recovery. Because there was no way he would survive and not come back to them. He had a wife and a kid. Tony wouldn't miss out on that.

The fifth floor also happened to have the cafeteria. As Peter strolled by his stomach let out a growl that made Morgan giggle and Peter's cheeks tinge pink.

"Your tummy's talking."

"Um, I'm just a little hungry. But I can wait until we talk with your mom," he reassured.

"Mommy won't mind. She is always trying to get Daddy to eat. And I am hungry too. Do you think they have juice pops?"

Well Peter had texted Pepper so surely it would be okay to make a quick detour… and who was he to deny a hungry kid? He was suddenly very thankful that May had shoved some cash at him before he had left the shelter to go out on patrol. Surely he could get something for the two of them with twenty bucks.

"Okay, we can get something to eat. But I don't think your Mom or Dad would just want you to have a juice pop."

Morgan seemed non-plussed at the suggestion but nodded her head in aquiescence. 

"Maybe just a small one after other food?"

Peter grinned at her and conceded, "Maybe. We'll see."

The cafeteria wasn't full-service at this time of night, but it did have some pre-made sandwiches wrapped up, fruit, yogurt, small boxes of cereal and milk cartons, along with some bottled drinks and pastries laid out.

"I don't see any juice pops, Morgan, but it looks like they have fruit cups in jello? Or apple juice? Does that sound okay? Or do you want a sandwich?"

"Fruit cup, please." 

"Anything else? Is that all you want?"

"Mm-hmm."

Peter had the feeling that she wasn't that hungry to start with and had just said she was because he was. He had the sneaking suspicion she was particularly practiced in this art of deception. He could see her doing this with Tony to coerce him into eating. After all, she had observed Pepper always trying to get him to eat. 

Huh. Smart kid.

He picked up three sandwiches for himself, a bottle of water, and a jello fruit cup. After a moment, he grabs a muffin and a second bottle of water. Pepper wasn't probably eating too well these days either and might appreciate a reminder. He carries their wares on a tray in one hand to the cashier with Morgan easily balanced on his other arm. The cashier smiled as he sees them approach and totals up their items.

"$19.80"

Peter hands him a twenty dollar bill, waves off the change, and then takes their food and over to an unoccupied table. He gently sets Morgan on a bench and slides the fruit cup and a spoon in front of her. He tears the plastic lid off for her and watches as she stabs at the mold with her utensil. Hmm. Napkins. Napkins would have been a good idea. 

"Can you wait here while I grab some napkins?"

She nods happily around a spoonful of green jello some of which drips down her chin. So many napkins. Maybe they have those little moist towelette things….

"Good. Pretend the floor is lava - no touching. I will be right back." 

Morgan giggles and goes back to mutilating her snack.

Peter sighs as he walks back to the counter to gather some napkins. As he contemplates whether or not a straw might be a less messy way for her to drink from the bottle of water, the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he whips his head back to where he left Morgan.

The tall man from the elevator is on the other side of the table with his hands planted flat against the surface and leaning over towards Morgan, apparently saying something to her. Morgan had turned sideways on the bench leaning away from the newcomer with one leg dangling on either side of it glancing back and forth to Peter, looking like she is two seconds from sprinting towards him.

The man followed Morgan's gaze and saw Peter pointedly coming towards them with a hard expression on his face. He immediately stood up and away from the table and presented a neutral expression. Peter reached down for Morgan as she scrambled back into his arms and hid her face back in the curve of his shoulder, sticky mouth pressed against his neck. 

"What did you say to her? Who are you?" Peter demanded. 

"Look kid, I wasn't trying anything funny. I just wanted to see if she was Iron Man's kid. There have been rumors floating around the hospital of seeing her and since she has been kept away from the public eye, I thought I might be able to get a 'first look', if you will. I wasn't going to hurt her, honest." The man backed up a step and raised his hands in a placating gesture. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet that he flipped open to show a Daily Bugle ID card.

"Well you need to leave. You will be lucky if her mom doesn't sue you before you make it out of the building." He really had no idea if what he was doing was illegal but he was sure Pepper would take care of it. She was one of the most intimidating people he knew. And he knew a whole lot of enhanced, multi-powered superheroes that would turn the other way before going against Pepper.

The guy scoffed. "And who are you kid? The babysitter?"

Before Peter could respond, Morgan turned towards the man, scowling and said, "No, he's my brother!"

The man's eyebrows furrowed for a moment before his mouth morphed into a smile. "Is that so?" Then he abruptly turned and sauntered through the cafeteria doors.

Oh man. He really needed to tell Pepper before there are any crazy headlines about Iron Man's illegitimate children coming out of the woodwork.

Morgan seemed to have calmed down from her initial scare and wasn't so tense in his arms anymore. Or at least Peter thought she wasn't until he went to set her back down and she didn't loosen her hold on him. Okay then. He could work with this. 

"Do you not when me to put you down?" She shook her head. Hmm. "What if you sit in my lap while we eat?" She nodded slowly.

" 'Kay."

He manuvered her into a sitting position sideways on his right leg with her still leaning towards his chest and his arm around her back. He worked on unwrapping the ham and cheese sandwich from it's plastic confines and then looked over at Morgan's forgotten jello fruit cup. "Did you want anymore of your jello?"

She shook her head. He took a bite of his sandwich while she sat quietly in his lap and played with a thread on her pajamas. He noticed her watching him on his second bite. "Do you want some of this sandwich?" She nodded. Alrighty then. He tore off a quarter of it and handed to it her and they both continued to quietly munch on their sandwiches. It turns out she is also a fan of turkey sandwiches, and of course, the PB&J was her favorite. After a shared picnic at the table in which Morgan managed to not spill the water everywhere (Peter was very impressed), and wiping down Morgan's hands and face with some wetted napkins, he gathered their trash, deposited it in the receptacle, and carried Morgan out the door while she held onto the muffin and water bottle for her mom.

He was almost to sleeping area when his phone started buzzing incessantly. He pulled it out of his pocket and put it up to Morgan's ear as soon as he saw the name flashing across the screen and swiped up to answer.

"Hi, Mommy. With Peter. To see Daddy. We are going to your room now. We brought you a snack!"

He took the phone back from her after she answered the rapid fire questions from her mom and proceeded to reassure Pepper they were fine and Morgan was no trouble and they would be there in just a minute.

As they walked through the common area, he saw Pepper rush through some small groups of people to stop in front of them, grab Morgan by the head and kiss her face a dozen times. Then, much to Peter's surprise, she grabbed him by the head and kissed his temple.

Having the frantic need to make sure her kid is unharmed out of her system, Pepper's face took on a much more stern expression.

"Morgan, you know you aren't allowed to run off by yourself! What if something had happened to you?"

"I wasn't by myself, I was with Peter!"

"So Peter came up here and got you and took you down to Daddy's room?"

There was a mumbled response.

"What was that?"

"No, Mommy."

Pepper still didn't look happy, but instead focused on Peter.

"Peter, I don't know how to thank you. I almost had a heart attack when I woke up - I didn't mean to fall asleep - I had actually just laid down next to Morgan to get her to sleep because I had some SI projects I wanted to work on, and I guess I was more tired than I realized."

"Oh it was nothing, Ms. Potts, er, Stark. I didn't mind the company."

"And we got you a muffin!"

Pepper smiled at Morgan's enthusiasm. "Thank you both. I actually am a little hungry. I think it is time we all went home for the night. Do you need a ride, Peter? And you know you can just call me Pepper."

"Oh, no thank you. I, uh, swung here, and will probably do the same going home."

Pepper smiled knowingly. "I understand." She reached to take Morgan from his arms and into her own but was met with resistance. Her daughter had a death grip on Peter's shirt and legs clamped around his waist. "Sweetheart, you have to let go. Peter needs to go home too."

"But I just got him!" Morgan shrilled as she gripped harder. 

"Baby, you will see him again. He isn't going anywhere." 

"Yah Morgan, we can hang out again sometime."

Morgan looked back and forth between the two people trying to assuage her fears with a trembling lip and took a shaky breath before slowly relinquishing her steel like grip on Peter's clothes. Pepper gently transferred her to her own arms and rubbed her back consolingly. 

Peter didn't know what to do to make Morgan feel better. He didn't know why Morgan was so distressed at the prospect of him leaving. Pepper gave him a smile and mouthed "She'll be okay," while Morgan sniffled pitifully against her mom's shoulder. He would text Pepper about the reporter incident later. He didn't want to bring up anything that would stress Morgan more.

"Well, I am going to head out… see you later, Morgan."

Morgan raised her head long enough to give him a mournful, "Bye, Peter" before continuing to wallow in her misery.

Pepper reached out and gently squeezed Peter's arm with a smile and "Goodnight, Peter" before walking away with her daughter. Peter watched them for a moment before turning and heading back the way he came. He wasn't going home just yet. He wanted to sit with Mr. Stark a little longer.

When he got back to the room, he settled in the chair on Tony's good side and gently picked up his hand to hold with his own while they rested against the covers. Whenever he visited, and it was just the two of them, he usually would just talk to Tony about his day (like he used to when they were working together in the lab), or read some interesting articles in science journals to him. Today, the subject matter was a little different.

"So I finally met Morgan today. I think she is a little confused as to who I am - keeps calling me her brother. I don't know where she got that from, but she is very convinced. I think she inherited the combined stubbornness of you and Pepper. Scary thought. But she's, uh, a really sweet kid. Kind of clingy. Not that I mind! I mean you probably said the same about me…" Peter trails off in thought, remembering movie nights at the compound with a certain father-figure. Wait, he didn't mean father-figure. Just mentor-figure. He wasn't - he didn't - 

He just really missed him.

"Well, I should go. I will be back tomorrow. Like always. I am going to try and get here a little earlier. I promised a certain someone that I would see her again. I hope you don't mind that I haven't convinced her I'm not her sibling. Maybe I can get Pepper to help break the news to her. Good night, Mr. Stark."

Peter squeezed the hand he was holding one more time before walking out the door and texting Pepper about the run-in with the reporter.

She texted back just as as he exited the building and was headed towards the alley where he had webbed his back pack.

MrsIronMan: Morgan already told me although her rendition of the encounter was much more dramatic. She has given me a play by play of your time together. Thanks for taking such good care of her and keeping her safe. She doesn't warm up to new people quickly. I hope you know you forever have a fan. 

PeterMan: Well it's the least I could do! I don't think it would send the right message if I let something happen to IronMan's kid. ;)

He got another message just as he sent his reply.

TheAuntMay: Are you coming home soon? I saved you a plate of food. <3

PeterMan: omw (spider emoji) (web emoji)

MrsIronMan: You're his kid, too, Peter. I hope you know that.

Peter swallowed the lump in his throat and changed into his suit before slinging a web to the nearest building and starting his trek home. 

If his eyes were a little red-rimmed when he got home, May didn't mention it. She may have just hugged him a little tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, there you have it. My first ever fan fiction. I hope it wasn't too cringe worthy. How does one recruit a beta reader? Do I just message someone and say So I Made This Thing, But Words Are Hard, Please Make It Suck Less? One would think after reading fan fiction for most of my life, I would understand the creating process more. But no, I am a noob. Feel free to make any suggestions. I am pretty sure I changed tenses at least three times.
> 
> I am planning on progressing the story but from different POVs. The second chapter will be from Morgan's and the third (and final) from Tony's.
> 
> Also, confession time! I have only seen Iron Man, Black Panther, SM: Homecoming, and SM: Far From Home in the MCU. And the last two only after I started following the IronDad fandom. I literally got into this fandom from a post on Tumblr pointing out Tony being in Dad Mode around Peter Parker and my brain short circuited and fell down the rabbit hole.
> 
> Feel free to holler at me on Tumblr under the same name. I mostly just flail about IronDad with some animals thrown in.
> 
> Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!


	2. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper realizes the solution to her problem is almost too easy.

Pepper didn't have too much trouble settling Morgan into her car seat. Despite her daughter's protests, she was clearly tired after her late night adventure. On the way to the car, Morgan had recounted everything she and Peter had done ("and then he carried me to the elevator and let me push the button and then all these people got on with us" "and we ate all the sandwiches and I like the peanut butter jelly best but my hands got sticky") in what felt like one breath from her apparent excitement. 

Pepper was a little disturbed by the reporter but not surprised in the least. The media were always trying to get pictures of the Starks since Tony took himself out of the spotlight and into retirement. It had not been too much of a problem before since their cabin kept them pretty removed from the public eye and their outings were infrequent. Since Tony has been in the hospital, she usually had Morgan within her sights at all times or Happy's if she was in a meeting or conference call, so reporters still tended to keep their distance. She had been trying to give Happy a break lately from pulling triple-duty as head of security, driver, and now impromptu babysitter. Tony had always been a stay at home dad so there had never been a need to find someone else to watch her. 

As Pepper eased the Audi through the city streets, she glanced in the rearview mirror to see her daughter passed out as she suspected she would be as soon as the car started moving. She smiled at the sight. Morgan was generally a very happy child, but since Tony had been so severely injured, she had become much more quiet and withdrawn. The most consistent person in her life was suddenly not present in her daily routine and it definitely impacted her. Pepper had thought about having her see a child psychologist to help navigate any emotional trauma but Morgan had become so introverted around anyone new, she didn't think changing her routine even more would result in a positive change. She definitely wasn't against seeking professional help, but everything was still so recent, maybe she just needed a little more time to adjust. However, seeing the way Morgan had apparently instantly attached herself to Peter might have presented a natural answer to her dilemma. 

As their surroundings became more rural, Pepper sped up a little bit on the open road as the cars were few and far between. Not that anyone was keeping regular hours these days, but it gave her some peace of mind to think that maybe they would be home before another day began. Although Pepper is happy that they made the decision to raise Morgan outside of the city and away from prying eyes, she could do without the commute. 

After another thirty minutes of dirt roads, the car glides to a stop in front of their cabin. Pepper eases Morgan out of her car seat and makes the trek to her bedroom while her daughter slumbers on. Morgan used to have no problem sleeping in her own room, but since Tony's injury, she had inevitably found her way into her parents' room during the night. Pepper didn't bother trying to settle her in her own bed after the first week of basically living at the hospital when Tony's prognosis was still very poor (it was only now considered fair since they were still waiting for him to wake up) as she took just as much solace in having her daughter close. Morgan didn't stir as Pepper pulled the covers up over her. She quickly changed into her own pajamas and prepared for bed before crawling in next next to her daughter. 

As she laid on her side and took comfort in the steady rise and fall of Morgan's chest, Pepper's thoughts focused back on her earlier observation of Peter with Morgan. She hoped with all her heart that Tony would be able to see them like that, together and happy. Peter may not realize what he meant to Tony, but Pepper knew that Morgan certainly would not have existed if Peter hadn't become a part of Tony's life. Tony had so many reservations about fatherhood after his experience with Howard that raising a child had been out of the question. It wasn't until Peter managed to circumvent every emotional barrier Tony had built himself and suddenly filling a role he never thought he would want that it all changed.

Pepper gently reached out to brush some of Morgan's baby hairs away from her face and ran her thumb across her cheek. Morgan's face was relaxed in sleep and other then turning her head into her pillow slightly, did not react to her mother's soft touch. Pepper relaxed her hand back against the mattress and closed her eyes. 

Morning came much too early as it always does. Pepper was an early riser by nature, but sometimes she even wished the sun could hold off for a few more hours. She opened her eyes to her daughter's intense gaze inches from her own. 

"Mommy, do you think Peter will be at the hospital today with Daddy?"

Someone clearly had a new preoccupation. Morgan leaned back into a sitting position as Pepper pushed herself up to her elbows.

"Peter stops by to sit with Dad everyday, sweetheart. You are just usually asleep before he gets there."

Morgan scrunched her face up. "But why doesn't he come earlier?" 

Pepper rolled herself up into a sitting position and eased off the side of the bed as Morgan tagged along after her to the kitchen.

"He is usually helping his Aunt May at the shelter during the day. You remember her, right? She was picking up some donations with Uncle Happy from the office the other day?" Pepper snagged a box of Cheerios off the shelf as Morgan pulled herself up onto a barstool at the counter.

"Yes, I remember her." Morgan set up on her knees and watched her mom pour two bowls of cereal. "Mommy." Pepper looked at her as she pulled the milk out of the fridge. Morgan seemed to be thinking about her question before voicing it as she chewed on her lip.

"Yes, baby?"

Morgan's brow furrowed. "Why does Peter call Daddy, Mr. Stark?"

Pepper smiled gently as she poured the milk into the two bowls of cereal. She had an idea of where this line of questioning was going. "What do you mean, sweetheart?"

"Why doesn't he call him Daddy too?" Morgan seemed so concerned about this that Pepper restrained the amused grin spreading across her face less Morgan think she wasn't taking her seriously. Pepper could only imagine how red-faced Peter would be getting told to call Tony, Daddy. 

"Baby, remember how Daddy told you that Peter's Mom and Dad died when he was very young?" Pepper's heart clenched for a moment thinking about how Morgan is about the same age Peter was when he became parentless. She quickly pushed that thought out of her head.

Morgan nodded solemnly.

"And he went to live with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben?" Another nod. "But he didn't call them mom and dad even though they became his parents. Why do you think that is?" Pepper put a bowl and spoon in front of Morgan. "On your bottom, sweetie."

Morgan plopped down on her rear and grabbed the spoon but made no attempt to start eating while she pondered what her mom had asked.

"Is it because they already had their names?" Morgan carefully procured a mound of Cheerios onto her spoon. Some milk dribbled off the edges as she brought it to her mouth.

Pepper smiled at Morgan's reasoning. "Do you mean because they were already Aunt May and Uncle Ben to Peter?" Morgan nodded as she chewed her mouthful of food. "I think you're exactly right. Just because he called them Aunt May and Uncle Ben doesn't mean he didn't see them as parents."

Morgan swallowed. "And because he knew Daddy as Mr. Stark he calls him Mr. Stark." Her mom nodded at her as she chewed on her own cereal.

Morgan brought the bowl up to her face and slurped some milk. "But Daddy wouldn't mind if Peter called him Dad, right?"

Pepper smiled as she set her spoon down. "I think Dad would want Peter to call him whatever he was comfortable with."

Morgan seemed to accept this as she climbed down from the stool and reached up to take her dishes to the sink. Pepper gently took them from her hands, "Thank you, sweetie. I can get them from here. Why don't you pick out something to wear?" Morgan scampered off down the hall as Pepper set their dishes in the dishwasher.

She walked back into her bedroom to grab her phone and selected May Parker from her contacts before hitting call. It just rang for a second before the call was connected.

"Hi Pepper! Did you need to reach Happy? He was running some errands for me and I think he left his phone in the office. -Just put it by the blankets!- Sorry, trying to organize the donations and volunteers." 

"Oh no worries! I actually wanted to run something by you if you have a moment. Sorry for the early call by the way."

"It's completely fine! What's up?"

"I will absolutely understand if you aren't comfortable with this, and I wanted to check with you first, but do you think Peter would mind watching Morgan for me while I am at the office during the day? I will definitely pay him for his time. I just wanted to make sure you would be okay with it and how you think Peter will feel because I feel like he would be too polite to say no even if he didn't want to." 

"Uh, I can ask him for you but I really think he would be fine with it until school starts up again. I think he would be really happy to do something that would help you out." May paused for a moment before continuing in a softer voice. "They could probably both use the distraction."

"You stole my thought process completely. Just tell Peter to contact me if he is interested. Again, no pressure!"

"I will. Thanks, Pepper."

"Thank you! Let me know if there is anything I can do to help with the relief effort."

"Will do, bye!"

"Bye!"

Morgan bounded into the room wearing a blue sparkly top with some purple checkered leggings and black ballerina flats. Pepper smiled. "I see you're all ready. Let me go get some clothes on and then we can head to the hospital. Did you brush your teeth?"

"Yep!" Morgan bared her teeth to show the results.

"Good girl. Just give me a minute to do the same. Why don't you go pack your back pack with some colors and books and toys?"

"Okay!" Morgan bounded off to her room.

Pepper's phone buzzed as she headed to the bathroom. She opened the text message as she turned on the faucet.

TonyJr: Hi Pepper! May just told me you needed someone to watch Morgan. I definitely can do that! I don't know how much fun she will have with me, but maybe we could build Legos or something? 

Pepper typed a quick reply. She heard her daughter going through drawers in the other room. Morgan was going to be so excited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there an official location to where the Stark cabin is? I have not seen Endgame and I tried to look it up but I couldn't find anything so for purposes of this story, it is just a bit of a drive outside the city.... Feel free to correct me! I realize I am probably going to have a lot of continuity errors, so please PLEASE point out my mistakes or things that do not make sense. I realize I will probably have to re-edit this story at some point. I want my writing skills to get better so I am open to any suggestions/tips/etc!
> 
> I really appreciate everyone who has read/commented/left kudos on this story. I was blown away by the response. I literally cannot believe so many people were interested in this story!
> 
> Oh, and I realize that I said I was going to do this part of the story from Morgan's perspective, but Pepper made more sense at this point, but I will get to Morgan eventually!


	3. Babysitting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sticky hands are a babysitter's best friend.

MrsIronMan: Thank you so much, Peter! You will probably be regretting this decision in a few hours, so it is okay if you change your mind! Morgan can be a handful. We will be by the shelter in the next hour or so and we can go from there!  
PeterMan: Okay, see you in a bit! :)

Peter checked his watch. They should be arriving any minute. He had spent part of the morning helping May and Happy move heavier things around the building and was now waiting in the back office area. Peter really had no idea how he was going to entertain Morgan for the next several hours or however long Pepper needed. There wasn't really anything to do at the relief center and he also didn't know if Pepper wanted him to watch Morgan back at their cabin or what. Before he could get too lost in his line of thought, he heard the thudding of small foot steps coming his direction followed by a "Wait for me, Morgan!" 

He poked his head out the doorway in time to see Morgan launch herself at his arms. He caught her easily and started nodding slowly as she began a non-stop sentence of her plans for them "-can go to the park and feed the ducks and pet the dogs and go the playground and go down the slides-"

Peter looked over her head helplessly and with widened eyes at Pepper and May who both stared at him with barely concealed amusement.

"Morgan, baby," Pepper interrupted her daughter's chatter, "Can you go with Aunt May for a minute? She has some snacks in the kitchen for you to try."

Morgan's grip on Peter's sweater tightened almost imperceptibly as she glanced between the adults and Peter as if they were all in on some scheme to take her away from her brother. "I'm not hungry."

"We have juice pops." Morgan didn't lessen her grip. "We can bring Peter back one." Morgan let herself be lowered to the ground and took May's outstretched hand as they walked towards the kitchen. She only glanced over her shoulder once to make sure her mom and Peter were where she left them.

Pepper turned to look at Peter once she was sure Morgan wouldn't try to back-trek. "Remember, if this gets too overwhelming, I can come get her at anytime."

Peter was quick to reassure her. "I really think it will be fine. I-I mean she seems pretty comfortable with me, and I figured I would get to know her at some point, since she's your and Tony's kid, and well…" He seemed to shake a thought from his head before continuing, "It's really okay, Pepper. I just hope she doesn't get bored with me too quickly."

"Peter, I don't think you could bore her if you tried. You're like a favorite character in a story come to life. Tony told her so many things about you and now you're here."

Peter was a little surprised at this. "Ton- Mr.Stark told her about me?"

Pepper's face was pensive as she replied. "He talked about you all the time, honey."

"Oh." Peter's chest felt a little tight. And maybe his throat too. Man, why is it so hard to swallow? "Th-That was really nice of him." He stared at the floor for a minute while he took a shaky breath.

"I had Morgan bring a backpack of some toys and coloring books which might occupy her for an hour or so," Pepper gave Peter a teasing smile, "but I thought maybe you two could go to the park or zoo or something? Get a little fresh air? Here is some money for the expenses - " 

"Pepper, the zoo doesn't cost that much!" Peter exclaimed as she pulled some cash out of her purse to put in his hand.

" - and to get lunch or whatever you two want. Maybe go see a movie? I know you both could use a happy distraction. You have no idea how thankful I am that Morgan lights up around you. Since everything happened with Tony, she hasn't smiled for much."

Peter didn't know how to feel about that. He was really happy that Morgan was excited to be with him, but what if she suddenly decided he wasn't as fun as she thought? What if she had a melt down? What if she tried to run awa- Pepper laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Peter, I can see you spiraling. It's fine. Take a breath. Just have fun today. If you have fun, Morgan will have fun, I promise.

He nodded his head. He wasn't sure if he believed her completely but it seemed like the appropriate response. He would try.

"Peter! Peter! I got you a red one!" Pepper and Peter turned to see Morgan dragging May towards them with two juice pops in her hand. Pepper turned to Peter. 

"And I packed lots of wet wipes."

Peter let out a small laugh and smiled.

Looking back at the turn or events, Peter should have realized that it doesn't matter whose back pack it is, he should not be responsible for it. He loses his all the time - why would he be able to keep a hold on an even smaller (and therefore more easily lost his mind reasoned) backpack?

The one thing Peter realized he would never lose track of was Morgan. And not just because he didn't want to be murdered by Pepper or Tony when he woke up, but because he realized his spider powers had made him the ultimate babysitter. There was no letting go of his sticky hands. 

As soon as he had felt Morgan start to pull away from him to run towards the carousel in the park, he had let his hands stick. He thought it might have made Morgan frustrated that she couldn't get out of his grip, but instead, she found it endlessly amusing. She tried her hardest to pull and swing her arms but her hand didn't move an inch. Peter thought she would at least question it, but she just said, "Daddy told me you were sticky," after she gave up on figuring out how to un-stick herself.

He did let her pull him towards the carousel and picked her up to put her on a black horse with a white mane after she had carefully perused the ride to find the perfect steed. He buckled the belt around her and then leaned against the horse behind them as he waited for the music to start. Morgan clearly did not think this was acceptable carousel behavior.

"You have to ride the horse, Peter," she told him with a very exasperated expression as if she could not believe she was having to explain proper carousel etiquette to him. 

Peter just laughed to himself. "You know what? You're right." He easily swung himself up onto the horse next to her.

"And buckle your belt."

At least Flash wasn't here to witness this. He buckled his belt. Morgan just laughed at him as she grabbed the pole in front of her and the music started. Peter grinned over at her as he heard a bunch of camera flashes go off. Probably all the parents taking photos of their kids.

It was a couple of rides around the carousel when Peter realized that neither of them had a hold of her backpack. It wasn't the greatest loss because he had his phone and the cash Pepper gave him in his pocket, and he didn't think there was anything irreplaceable in Morgan's backpack, but he wanted to at least give the appearance of a responsible and capable babysitter if Pepper was ever going to trust him again.

"Uh Morgan," Peter unbuckled her seatbelt and lifted her off the horse as the ride ended. She promptly wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his side showing no interest in not being carried. "Do you remember where we put your backpack?" Morgan looked around as though she too just noticed the missing item.

"Umm, maybe at the castle?" she pondered out loud as Peter stepped off the carousel with a sigh and started walking in the direction of Belvedere Castle where they had visited a couple of hours ago.

"You're probably right, Mo. Are you getting hungry?" She nodded against his shoulder. "Okay, well let's retrieve your backpack and then we can go find some food, sound good?" Another nod against his shoulder. Followed by a yawn. Hmm. Maybe a nap too.

The back pack was easy to find once they made it to the castle. A nice lady in the visitor center brought it out from behind the desk once he described it accurately as a good Samaritan had turned it in earlier. The lady smiled at Peter as she handed him the bag and saw Morgan dozing against his shoulder.

"Looks like you tired your little sister out."

Peter opened his mouth to say he was just babysitting but thought it really didn't matter what the woman thought, and just replied, "Yah, big day. Lots of walking." He smiled as he reflected on the fact that Morgan had basically used him as her personal chaffeur and he had done most of the walking today, but that was okay. It might have been the super strength, but she didn't feel at all heavy in his arms.

Peter checked his watch and it was just after 1pm. He figured he would let Morgan sleep a little longer before waking her up for a late lunch. He had her in one arm and the backpack slung over his other as he trudged towards the Great Lawn. The weather was still surprisingly nice for the time of year and a bunch of people were out with picnics and blankets. Peter didn't have a blanket but he found an empty patch of grass in the meadow and put the backpack behind his head as he laid down with Morgan slumped against his chest.

He felt Morgan chest rise and fall against his own. She didn't stir as he shifted slightly. She probably was really tired. After they had made the decision to go to Central Park that morning, they had definitely packed a lot of sight-seeing in. They had started with Gapstow bridge and spent some time finding small sticks to throw over the side and then race to the other side to see whose made it there first. Then they had stopped by The Dairy for some ice cream (Was Peter supposed to make sure she was eating healthy? Did he need to pay attention to food groups? He would make sure there was at least one vegetable in their diet today) before continuing onto the Chess and Checker House. Peter learned that Morgan was very competitive at checkers. He could only assume that competitiveness came from both sides of her family tree. They made a quick stop to say "Hi" to Balto while Peter promised they would go to the zoo another day. After a million other little stops they had ended up at the castle and then eventually the carousel.

Peter's phone buzzed in his pocket and he reached down to get it without jostling Morgan too much, who slept on, oblivious.

MrsIronMan: Everything going okay? Morgan not tiring you out?

Peter responded by holding his phone out to get a selfie of him smiling with Morgan drooling slightly on his shirt. He sent the photo with the caption "It appears I have won this round."

It was a few minutes before he got a response.

MrsIronMan: You are a miracle worker Peter Parker. I don't think Morgan has taken a nap since she was two. I should be finished up at the office in a few hours if you want to head this way? Or we could meet at the hospital later?  
PeterMan: Let's meet at the hospital if that's okay.  
MrsIronMan: Of course. I texted Happy and May and they would like us all to go out to dinner later.  
PeterMan: Sounds good. See you later! :)

Peter heard his phone buzz a few minutes later. 

TheAuntMay: Pepper forwarded the photo you sent her. Happy swears he just got something in his eye. You're a good kid, Peter.  
PeterMan: Thanks May :)

Peter felt Morgan turn her head into his chest as she slowly woke up. He pushed himself up onto his elbows to look down at her as she glanced around with a perplexed expression. Definitely not in Kansas anymore.

"Hey Mo, you fell asleep. Do you think you are ready to eat something now?" he asked softly.

Morgan scrubbed at her eye sleepily while she mumbled "Yes, please."

"Okay, let's stop somewhere for a bathroom break, and then we will see what's open. Anything you particularly want?" Peter rubbed Morgan's back while he stood up - making sure to grab the back pack - and she slumped sleepily back against him.

"Cheeseburger." Hmm. Well. Maybe the lettuce on that will count as a vegetable.

"Sounds good. I think there is a cafe on the other side of this field."

It turns out Morgan liked her cheeseburgers plain with just ketchup. And a side of fries. So maybe the vegetable will come later in the day. Peter had ordered a side salad with his own burger in hopes that Morgan would show some interest if he slathered it in ranch. He took a bite with an exaggerated "mmmm" while Morgan chewed on her own burger. She blinked up at him. Maybe he would just eat the salad.

"Everything taste okay?" She nodded. She was a little short for the table but had absolutely refused the booster seat the waitress had brought, so sitting on his lap had been the compromise. Morgan seemed pleased with the result. "You know this salad is really good. I bet your mom likes salads."

"She does. She says Daddy should eat more of them."

"Well she's a smart lady and is probably right. I bet she would like it if you had some salad too."

Morgan seemed nonplussed at this idea and looked at him like she knew exactly what his game was.

"Maybe just a bite?"

She sighed as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. "Okay."

Peter took his small victory and quickly speared a piece of tomato, cucumber, carrot, and lettuce on a fork before dipping it in some ranch dressing and handing it to Morgan. That was three vegetables AND a fruit. He was winning at this big brother - er, babysitter gig.

She grabbed the fork like she was going to stab someone but the food made it in her mouth. She chewed for a moment and swallowed.

"And?" 

"Not bad." Peter smiled at her concession. 

"Want some more?" She nodded.

He quickly repeated the process before she changed her mind.

"Do you want my fries?" He figured Morgan was just repeating his demonstration of sharing. Take that Barney. "Daddy says you need to eat a lot because of your metab - tabbo -"

"Metabolism?" He smiled.

"Metabolism." She mirrored his expression. "Yes. It's a big word." 

"It is a big word. Thank you for sharing your food." He snagged a fry off of her plate. 

Morgan seemed pleased with herself. "You're welcome."

The waitress stopped back by their table. "Do you all need anything else?" she said with a soft smile at Morgan stabbing at some lettuce. Morgan looked up from her romaine mutilation and informed her, "My brother has a fast metabolism."

Peter's cheeks reddened as he mumbled, "She just mastered that word." Morgan beamed.

After their stomachs were full, Morgan decided she was ready to walk again and clamped onto Peter's hand and dragged him off towards their next adventure which turned out to be taking a paddle boat onto the lake. Or more specifically, Peter paddling a boat and Morgan directing him where to go. Peter worried she was going to lean too far over the edge, but she was actually really good at following his instructions. 

Once they made it back to shore, and Peter had carefully lifted Morgan onto dry ground, he figured they should start heading back to the hospital. 

"I think we need to start heading back to the hospital, Morgan." 

"To see Daddy?" 

"Yes, I think he would like the company. And we are also going to meet up with your Mom, Aunt May, and Happy for dinner later."

Morgan swung their arms between them as they walked, again amusing herself with the fact that Peter's hand was so sticky.

"Do you think Daddy is going to wake up soon?"

Peter swallowed. He didn't know what Pepper had told Morgan about her Dad's condition. "I think he will wake up as soon as he can."

"I miss him," Morgan admitted softly.

"Me too, Mo." Peter squeezed her hand.

Morgan seemed to perk back up after a moment. "I can't wait until he can play with both of us! We can take him to the park!" She smiled up at Peter.

"I think he would like that." 

Happy had dropped Morgan and Peter off at the park this morning and said to text him when they were ready to go. Peter knew Happy was probably helping May at the shelter (he had seemed a little too eager to lend a hand if he really thought about it…) and since they were understaffed to start with, it would probably be just as easy to take the subway to the hospital. There was an entrance not too far off. 

"Have you ever been on a train, Morgan?"

It turns out, Morgan had not been on a train, but considering who her parents were, Peter doubted public transportation had ever been a part of her life. She seemed intrigued at first until more and more people started to pile on with them. Peter stood up to let an elderly woman take his seat, and Morgan immediately hopped out of her seat to follow him.

She grabbed onto his pant leg and buried her face into the side of his thigh. He cupped the back of her head with one hand as he held onto the strap by his head. "You could have stayed seated Morgan. I wasn't going to leave you."

"But you moved!" Her voice warbled. 

Peter let go of the strap to reach down and pick Morgan up under both arms. He put her on one arm as he reached back for the strap with the other. She relaxed in his arms and hid her face in his neck. Peter spoke quietly in her ear, "I promise I would never leave you, Mo. Someone else just needed that seat more than me."

"Well I need you," she sniffled back. Peter's heart might have dropped into his stomach somewhere at that proclamation. He kissed the side of her head.

"Well you have me. Always." He didn't know how he would keep that promise, but there was no way he could not be there for Tony's kid.

Peter carried Morgan the rest of the trip to the hospital. It was only a short walk from where they exited the subway. She seemed to be back to her usual happy herself once they were on the sidewalk. Note to self, no more public transportation for awhile.

When they entered the hospital, the people at the information desk nodded their heads at the familiar faces of Morgan and Peter and his waved greeting.

He could have found his way to Tony's room blind-folded he had made the trip so many times the past month. He let his body go into auto-pilot as he traversed the familiar route. He set Morgan down once they entered the room and she ran over to her father's bedside.

"Hi Daddy. Peter and I went to the park today!"

Peter settled back in a chair as Morgan excitedly recounted their entire day. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he thought back to Morgan's earlier innocent question of when he thought Tony would wake up.

He sure hoped it would be soon. He thought the real person Morgan needed was her dad.

And maybe he did too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I know. I am surprised too. Two chapters in less than 24 hours. This is what happens when my sleep schedule gets all sorts of backwards.
> 
> So apparently I will be flipping back to Peter's perspective every other chapter. Obviously, I have no idea what I am doing.
> 
> And I am sorry for anyone that knows Central Park's layout and if I completely reorganized it. I tried referencing an official park map and some tour guide sites but I probably still made them take an impossible path.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Always open to suggestions!


	4. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May learns her family is bigger than she thought.

Most people had to start from nothing after being brought back from The Snap. Some were lucky and still had family to help them get back on their feet, and others were completely on their own and displaced as their homes had new occupants, jobs had found someone to fill their position or the company just didn't exist anymore, and it was like walking into a whole other world after all the devastation The Snap had caused. The universe suddenly having to support twice as many occupants was a strain on everyone and everything.

May considered herself very fortunate as she and Peter did not have to mourn each other during the time they were gone. They could face this new life together without that extra emotional baggage. Never one to dwell, she immediately tried to see how she could help make things a little easier on all those that had been brought back and thus, started organizing the homeless and support shelter for all those that had been Blipped.

She and Peter were extra lucky because Pepper had immediately reached out upon their return to help them find a place to stay and let her know they had actually kept most of their stuff in storage. May had become closer to the family since Tony had become such a big part of Peter's life once he had started mentoring him in the world of superheroes. She never thought she would consider the billionaire a friend, but when you end up co-parenting an enhanced teenager, it is hard to not be close to the other major person in your kid's life. She could even say they had a nice camaraderie once they got past the whole lying-about-the-internship and taking-her-adolescent-nephew-to-fight-professional-superheroes-in-Germany and enabling-him-to-fight-crime-in-a-custom-suit fiascos.

Pepper had told May that she and Peter were more than welcome to stay at the lake house while they got back on her feet, but May knew it would be much easier to get the shelter running if she was within the city. She did however let Pepper help her find a place for her and Peter. It was a smaller apartment than before since real estate was so high in demand, but it would work until they could find something more permanent. Happy had brought over most of their stuff from the storage center but said he had some things he needed to grab from the lake house itself. Happy had invited her to come with as Pepper wanted her to meet Morgan and discuss how she could help out with the shelter operation. May had agreed once she had texted Peter to see if he would like to come and he said he wanted to stay at the hospital incase Mr. Stark woke up. 

When they got to the lake house, a little girl who May assumed was Morgan, rushed out the front door once the car pulled to the stop followed by Pepper at a much more relaxed pace. The little girl came running towards the drivers side with a "Hi, Uncle Happy!" as the namesake slowly emerged from the car.

May tried to suppress an amused smile as Happy had quickly run around the car to open the door for her. As she stepped out of the car, Morgan stared up at her with wide eyes and a shy smile and said, "Are you Aunt May?" May kneeled down to be closer to the child's height.

"I am. And you must be Morgan."

A quick nod. Morgan strained to see over May's shoulder as if there was something else in the car as she wrung her hands in front of her.

"Um, where is Peter?"

"Oh, he stayed at the hospital with your Dad."

"Oh."

"But I am sure he would love to come see you another time," May was quick to reassure when the little girl's face dropped at her reply.

Pepper had reached the little group at that point and placed a gentle hand on her daughter's head as Morgan looked up at her with a bit of a trembling lip.

"I told you it was Aunt May and Uncle Happy coming to see us. Peter probably just didn't want Daddy to be lonely."

"But I want to see him."

"I know baby, and you will. But right now we are going to show Aunt May around and help her pack up Peter's stuff."

"Why can't it stay here?" Morgan's voice was starting to take on a mild whine.

"Because he probably wants it with him and Aunt May at their place."

"He's not going to live here?" There was a slight panic to the question and a glistening to Morgan's eyes that said waterworks were not far behind. May remembered Peter at this age and all the signs of an impending meltdown.

Pepper clearly sensed the emotional turbulence that was underway and scooped her daughter up so she could talk to her face to face.

"Peter can come over whenever he wants" - Pepper gave a quick glance at May who confirmed with a nod - "and he can still have some stuff here, but why don't we let him and May decide what goes where, okay?"

Morgan just kept her eyes cast downward as she gave a reluctant nod and sniffle. Pepper kissed the side of her head and sat her back on the ground. "Why don't you go with Uncle Happy up to the house and pick out some drinks and snacks for everyone?"

Happy stretched his hand out to Morgan who slowly grabbed on and then trudged back towards the house.

Aunt May smiled at the sight. 

"Your daughter is very sweet. Peter's going to be surprised that he already has a fan."

Pepper grinned, "You have no idea. I think he might get tired of the human shadow he is about to have." She became somber for a moment before continuing. "I cannot imagine what it is like to go through what you all have, but I am so incredibly thankful that you are both back. With us. When Tony saw Peter again at the battle with Thanos," she looked down for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing, "I didn't think I would ever see that look on his face again. It was like when Morgan was born and he was suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of love for this little miracle in his arms that didn't even seem fathomable."

May reached out to lightly squeeze Pepper's arm. She knew that feeling. When Ben and she had gotten custody of Peter after his parents passed, it was such a sudden overwhelming awareness of how much infinite love you can have for someone.

"I cannot tell you how much Tony grieved for Peter when The Snap happened. He was barely holding it together when we went to your apartment to tell you, and then when he saw that you were gone too, he just broke down. He told me later on that he felt both relieved and ashamed that you didn't have to grieve for Peter."

Pepper's eyes were starting to water as she paused and May pulled her into a hug.

"Well he was right to feel that way. If I had to go on without Peter, it would have broke me."

Pepper swallowed hard. "I think it almost broke him."

The women made their way up to the house after taking a few minutes to compose themselves. Upon entering, they found Happy sitting next to a sulking Morgan on the couch who had a juice pouch in her hand and what appeared to be a t-shirt blanket wrapped around her. In fact, May recognized those t-shirts.

She glanced at Pepper, "Are those Peter's - "

"They're my brother's," Morgan interjected rather forcefully, her cheeks still blotchy from earlier.

"Morgan, you know better than to interrupt," Pepper chastised gently.

"I'm sorry," came her tinny voice, not sounding at all sorry.

Pepper gave her a sterner look which had Morgan repeating, "I am sorry for interrupting you, Aunt May."

May came to sit on Morgan's other side and gently ran her hand over the closest piece of cloth while Morgan eyed her warily. "These were Peter's favorite shirts. I am sure he will be happy to know you have been enjoying them too."

Morgan beamed.

Pepper smiled and announced, "I am going to get some fruit and cheese and crackers out for everyone to snack on before we start packing things up," as she headed to the kitchen. "Morgan, why don't you come help me while Uncle Happy shows May around the rest of the house."

Morgan got up to help her mom while Happy started leading May down the hallway.

"So you saw the living room and the kitchen, the bathroom is on the left and the kids' rooms are across the hall -" 

"Kids? I thought they just had Morgan," May paused in their trek down the hallway to look at Happy.

"Oh, they do, they just, um, well, one of the rooms is Peter's." Happy scratched the back of his head as he stumbled through his explanation. At May's raised eyebrows, he decided to make a stop on their tour.

He pushed open a door, and let May step into a mostly bare room. The walls were painted dark blue and there was a king size bed in the middle of it. Against the walls were stacks of boxes that May assumed was all of Peter's stuff from the apartment. May took a turn around the room before looking questioningly at Happy.

He smiled at her softly, before answering the silent inquiry. "Tony had this cabin picked out before everything happened with Thanos. I think he had originally planned on using it as a retreat, but then," he gestured vaguely with his hands "so when he moved out here with Pepper, he already had all the rooms planned out, the master, the guest room, one for the nursery, and… one for Peter. He had figured the kid would come stay here sometimes back when it was going to be a vacation house. It was really … bad… after The Snap. Tony wasn't dealing well and he took all of your stuff to storage - he actually kept the apartment rented for like a year after, but since we thought everyone was gone permanently, he didn't renew the lease. He didn't ever really let go though so he put all of Peter's stuff in this room that was supposed to be his. He didn't unpack it really, but sometimes would just sit in here and stare." He looked up at May at that point.

She smiled sadly at him. She didn't have to experience the grief of losing a child, but Tony had.

"How did Morgan get the t-shirt blanket?" 

Happy chuckled. "I asked Pepper the same thing. She said that Tony must have left the door to Peter's room open and Morgan wandered in there, she was about two at the time, and just started pulling those shirts out of the dresser. Tony went to look for her when she wasn't where he left her in her room and found her sitting in a pile of clothes, struggling to pull a shirt over her head. She had her head stuck through the neck and one arm in a sleeve before she saw Tony and asked, "Who this?" Pepper said he just started crying and picked Morgan up with the shirt half on and kissed the side of her head and said, "Those are your brother's." And then he sat down with her on the floor and just started telling her about Peter."

May smiled shakily at the image. So much love and so much mourning was in the room 

Happy furrowed his brows at her face. "Are you okay? I know this is a lot."

May wiped a stray tear with one of her hands and looked up willing the others to stay put in her eyes. "Yes, I am okay. I am just really glad to know that Peter would have someone to look after him if it had just been me, or if anything happens in the future…," she took a steadying breath before looking at Happy. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't we get something to eat before seeing the rest of the house?" 

May nodded. "Sounds good."

Back in the living area, there was a platter of assorted cheeses and fruits and crackers laid out with a pitcher of iced tea and some glasses. Pepper was still in the kitchen while a much calmer Morgan chewed on an apple slice on the couch. She was still wrapped in the blanket and was watching a brightly colored children's show on the television. May took her seat back beside Morgan who looked over at her before smiling and scooching closer to melt into her side. It appears she was now in her good graces after the Peter comment. May hastily wiped at her eyes one more time before reaching for the pitcher of tea.

"Are you sad?" 

Morgan's question caught her off guard. "No sweetie, just realizing my family was bigger than I thought." 

Morgan quickly nodded, "Yes, we have a big family. Me, Peter, Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Happy, you, Uncle Rhodey, Uncle Bruce…"

May smiled over her glass at an equally amused Pepper as Morgan continued to count all of her family members out loud on her fingers.

A big family indeed.

After everyone was sated with the spread Pepper had put out, May, Happy, and Pepper went about taking boxes of Peter's stuff out to the car much to Morgan's displeasure but she kept her thoughts to herself although they were broadcast quite easily across her face.

As Happy picked up the last box to take out to the car, May knelt down next to Morgan in an attempt to reach a truce as she clearly just saw her as the reason all of her much beloved brother's stuff was leaving the house. 

"You know, I never got to see your room Morgan. I know Peter would love to come see it some time, especially if I tell him about all the neat stuff you have." 

Morgan seemed keen on this idea and grabbed May's hand to lead her to her room next door. 

"This is my bed, and these are my stuffies, and this is where I draw." May set at her bed while Morgan brought her a stack of papers before sitting on the bed next to her and explaining all of them. This is a picture of Daddy, Mommy, Me, and Peter. This is one of Daddy in his suit and Spider Man." - May wandered if she had been told Peter was Spider Man. - "This is Gerald, our alpaca. This is Uncle Happy (May smiled at the frowny face on the figure), and this is Peter and Me. I can draw one of you too, if you want," Morgan ended rather shyly.

"I would love that so much." 

Morgan grinned.

"Okay, and I will make one for Peter too."

Happy appeared in the doorway, "Ready?"

"Yes, I was just admiring this young artist's work. I think she captured you perfectly." She held up the frowny face figure with a smile.

Happy narrowed his eyes at her but smiled back. 

May waved to Morgan as Pepper held her on her hip on the porch as they backed out of the driveway. Morgan waved enthusiastically back.

"I think she only likes me because I am a connection to Peter," May said amused.

Happy turned the wheel to straighten out on the main road. "You're probably right."

May shoved him in the arm. Happy just chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how I feel about this chapter. Hopefully it read smoothly and wasn't awkward. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Also, I don't know if I made it clear, but this chapter happens before the first chapter ever takes place. It is just supposed to offer more backstory/explanation.
> 
> And for all of you writers that have huge chapter updates, all the kudos in the world to you! I finished typing on my phone and hoped it was longer than the few hundred words I expect it to be. XD
> 
> Thanks so much for all the comments and kudos! I am forever surprised by how many people are interested in this story!
> 
> Next chapter will be from Peter's point of view again and have more Morgan-Peter interaction. 
> 
> Happy New Year, everyone!


	5. Lake House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter watches a sick Morgan at the lake house.

Peter watched the car roll down the driveway and disappear behind the trees on the main road before turning back to his charge who was nodding off in front of a movie on the couch. She was wrapped in a blanket made of his old science pun t-shirts which made Peter nostalgic for the time before The Snap. 

Pepper had called him last night asking if he would mind staying at the lake house with Morgan today. Pepper had stayed home with her the past few days while she battled the flu, but she seemed to be over the worst of it. Her temperature was holding steady at 99 F and she was able to keep small amounts of food down as of last night. Morgan still seemed too under the weather for Pepper to be comfortable with her being out and about. Peter had readily agreed after Pepper reassured him she would leave him a list of instructions for any medication and foods to try and get Morgan to take. As well as the knowledge he could call her anytime with questions.

For the past couple of months that Peter had been watching Morgan, they had always done activities out in the city. Peter thought he was ready to be the top Children's Tour Guide if such a thing ever existed. They had gone all over Central Park, been to the zoo - three times, gone to numerous movies, set foot in every child friendly museum the city had to offer, been to a play, made a quest to find the best hot dog vendor (they were at an impasse between Bo's and Papaya King), visited the local animal shelter (they both almost left with a kitten), took a ferry ride and visited The Statue of Liberty, as well as taking photos in front of every other touristy location possible, went to toy stores, and explored so many shops Peter couldn't even name them all. Pepper told Peter he was worse than Tony at spoiling her. He said he just wanted to make sure she had a good distraction. Pepper told him he was the distraction.

Pepper had given Peter a brief tour of the house before placing a hasty kiss on his cheek and one on Morgan's forehead and rushing out the door to where Happy was waiting in a car to take her to a slew of meetings. Peter wandered over to the kitchen table where Pepper had left a thermometer, children's Tylenol, and a list of things that she thought Morgan might have interest in eating and be easy on her stomach (chicken noodle soup, buttered toast, bananas, Pedialyte, juice pops, apples, cheese, etcetera) along with the instruction for Peter to help himself to whatever he wanted and to tell Friday if he wanted to order something.

Peter felt a tug on his pant leg while he was reading over Pepper's itinerary that she had left incase he couldn't reach her by phone and for some reason needed the different office numbers, every Avenger's number, Happy's number, the nearest hospital, and a million other possibly useful phone numbers. Peter realized that Morgan had probably never really been babysat by anyone other than her parents and maybe Happy when she was sick. Maybe Pepper was a little nervous. Or maybe she realized he was nervous. Before he got too lost in his spiraling thoughts, the tug came again and he looked down at Morgan.

"I'm hungry."

Peter smiled, "What would you like?"

"A hamburger." 

Hmm. That wasn't on Pepper's list. "I don't think that will sit well with your stomach right now. Maybe later." He squatted down so he could be eye level with her. "Is there anything else you might like?"

"Chicken nuggets." This was accompanied by a pouting lower lip.

This was not going as easily as Peter hoped. He looked at the list again. "How about we add some chicken to some Mac n Cheese? I bet that will taste good."

Morgan looked at him like he was trying to pull a fast one on her. "Can I have ketchup with it?*

"Um, I don't see why not?" Morgan smiled at this and wrapped her arms around his neck while he slowly stood up while sliding an arm under her legs to carry her so he could re-deposit her on the couch. She leaned her forehead against his collarbone and he thought she felt a little warm. Pepper told him she still had a low grade fever but that it had been improving. Peter put her back down where she had been sitting before and she immediately curled back up with her blanket. Friday resumed the movie she had been watching while Peter went to scavenge the kitchen.

He found a box of shell macaroni and cheese and laid out some chicken nuggets to bake in the oven while he set some water to boil. He paused at the sink to stare at the photos above it. One of them was the one he and Mr. Stark had taken when trying to make his internship official. The certificate was upside down and it was just a goofy looking photo. It had been such a fun day. The happy memory was clouded over with the knowledge that the other person in the photo was still laid out in a hospital bed.

He went to sit by Morgan on the couch after instructing Friday to let him know when the water started boiling. Morgan scooted closer until she was practically sitting in his lap and leaned her head back against his chest while they both stared at the images on the screen.

"What are we watching?"

Morgan answered without taking her eyes off the screen. "The Secret Life of Pets. I asked Mommy and Daddy for a puppy, but they said not right now. Plus Gerald might not want a puppy chasing him."

Peter furrowed his brows. "Who is Gerald?" 

Morgan tilted her head up to look at him. "He's our alpaca. He lives outside in the shed."

"Oh." Peter didn't know if Gerald really existed or was an imaginary pet at this point. 

Morgan turned to look at him, "Would you like to meet him? We can feed him an apple!"

"Sure, but maybe after we eat, okay?"

This seemed to appease Morgan and she went back to her movie as Friday informed Peter the water had started to boil. He got up to put the macaroni in and checked on the nuggets in the oven.

While he waited for the noodles to cook, he wandered down the hallway. He smiled at the pictures of baby Morgan on the wall and what must have been Tony and Pepper's wedding. He paused when he saw one of him and Tony. It must have been from Friday's archives because he knows no one took the photo. They were in the workshop and Peter had some gadget in his hand - he thinks one of his web shooters - and was laughing at Tony who was laughing as well. Peter swallowed a lump in his throat. 

He walked back to the kitchen and drained the noodles before adding the packet of powdered cheese. He pulled the nuggets out of the oven and set them on the stovetop to cool.

He poured a cup of Pedialyte for Morgan and added one of the 'fun' straws Pepper had told him might encourage her to drink a little more. He handed it to her on the couch and told her food was almost ready.

The chicken had cooled off enough that he was able to pull the breaded/fried outer part off with his fingers and pull apart the meat on the inside to put in the Mac n Cheese. He mixed it together before scooping some onto a children's partitioned plate and adding a glob of the requested ketchup to one of the smaller segments. He got a regular plate down for himself and heaped some on there as well. He added a glob of ketchup off to the side with a shrug of his shoulders. It might not be bad.

There was a wooden lap tray he set Morgan's food on along with a fork and stack of napkins before carrying the items out to her. She set up when she saw the food approaching and criss crossed her legs so Peter could set the tray on them.

She sat her Pedialyte in the cup holder provided and grabbed the fork before spearing some chicken and cheesy noodles and dipping it in the provided ketchup before shoving the concoction in her mouth and smiled at Peter. "It's really good! Thank you!" 

"You're welcome, Mo." He took a bite of his own mixture that had been dunked in ketchup and decided that it definitely didn't taste bad.

Morgan gave up on the dipping process after a few bites and just scooped the rest of the ketchup onto the macaroni and mixed it altogether. Satisfied with the result, she took another mouthful.

Peter wasn't that adventurous.

After they had both finished eating, Peter took their plates to the sink to wash. Morgan got up and followed him. "Don't you want to watch the rest of your movie?"

She looked up at him as he scrubbed the dishes. "No, maybe later. Do you want to go feed Gerald now?

"Um sure, but you have to find your coat and shoes. It's a little chilly out."

"Okay!" She scampered off to her room to find the requested items. Peter pulled an apple out of the fridge to cut up into chunks and put in a Tupperware container. Morgan skidded to a halt in front of him just as he finished. "Where's your jacket?" 

"Um, I didn't bring one, but I have long sleeves on so I will be okay." Morgan didn't seem to agree with this logic. She scrunched her forehead for a moment before her eyebrows shot upward and she exclaimed, "Wait here!" before running back down the hallway. Peter went to go slip on his shoes and Morgan reappeared with a hoodie in her hands.

"This is Daddy's! He won't mind if you wear it." Morgan smiled proudly as Peter gently took it from her. It was an old MIT hoodie. Peter took a breath before pulling it on over his head and exhaled slowly as some emotion threatened to close his throat. It smelled like Tony and the lab and so many memories. He smiled at Morgan who was grinning up at him.

"Thanks, Mo." He handed her the container of apple chunks and opened the door. She bounded down the porch steps and off to a little dirt path going around the house.

Peter caught up to her as she started climbing on a fence that had a fuzzy alpaca on the other side of it. Gerald snuffled into Morgan's hair and she laughed.

"This is Gerald! He is very nice and likes to be pet and eat all the berries in mom's garden. Gerald, this is Peter. He's my brother."

Peter tried to maintain a straight face as be politely said, "Nice to meet you, Gerald. We brought you some apples." He reached out to pet him as Morgan was already pulling the lid off the container and Gerald stuck his head in to immediately start chomping them down.

"Do you like him, Peter?" Morgan asked as she pat Gerald on the head and looked at Peter imploringly.

Peter was quick to reassure her, "He is the nicest alpaca I have ever met."

"I thought so too." Peter smiled at her affirmation.

After a few minutes Gerald had inhaled his fruit offering and started nuzzling around Morgan's jacket pockets in search of more. 

Morgan just laughed at his antics but the laughing quickly turned into a hacking cough. Peter's face immediately morphed into concern as he told Morgan, "Okay, let's say goodbye to Gerald and go inside. We can find some fun things to do inside." And rest, Peter thought, but having been a kid himself somewhat recently, he knew the last thing they wanted to hear was they needed to lay still and do nothing.

Morgan pat Gerald on the head one more time after she finished coughing and gave him a small "See you later," before Pete plucked her from the fence and started the trek back up to the house. Morgan didn't seem to mind the free ride and settled her head against his neck. She definitely felt warmer. He increased his pace a tad.

Once they were back inside and Morgan had kicked off her shoes and slid out of her coat, Peter grabbed the thermometer off the table and returned to Morgan's side where he pressed it to the side of her head. At least the children's thermometer made it easy to check so he didn't have to convince Morgan to hold anything under her tongue. 

It beeped at him. 100.5 F. Wrong direction. Oh boy. Morgan slumped against the arm of the couch looking decidedly more worn than just a little bit ago. 

"Hey Mo, will you drink some medicine for me? Your fever went up a little bit and it will help you feel better." 

"But it tastes so gross," Morgan whined.

"What if you have a juice pop after to help takes away the taste?"

Morgan seemed to contemplate this for a second before nodding her head. "Cherry, please."

"You got it."

He returned to the couch with the offending medication in a small cup dosed out to Pepper's specifications on the paper she left, and the required juice pop. Morgan reluctantly swallowed the medication before making a face and reaching for the juice pop that was awaiting her.

"Thank you for taking that. Your mom will be so proud of what a big girl your being." Morgan gave Peter a small smile at the praise while she sucked on her reward.

He sat down next to her and Friday resumed the movie. As the dogs escapes the sewer on screen, Peter glanced over at Morgan who was slowly getting heavier against his side as her eyes started to droop. He reached over and took the juice pop wrapper from her slack hand as she jerked herself awake. "Shh, it's just me Morgan. You can go to sleep." 

She immediately relaxed but gave a sulky "But I'm not tired," in response as her eyelids immediately began to droop again.

Peter tried not to show his amusement at the blatant lie, and instead said, "Okay, but why don't you lay down, you might be more comfortable." 

"No, I don't need to lay down because I am not tired," she insisted.

Peter wondered if this was how Tony felt when they were working on a project together over the weekend and he would start to nod off but insist that he was fine. Mr. Stark would try to imperceptibly watch him fight his battle with sleep before declaring they both needed a break and drag him to a couch, put on a movie, and wrap an arm around Peter so that he could slowly shift him into a laying position. Peter was usually out before they got through the title scene.

Well, he learned from the best.

"Well I think I would be a lot more comfortable laying down," he declared as he slumped back down until he had his head pillowed against the cushion on the armrest. He reached out to poke Morgan in the side with his sock covered toes and she giggled. She looked at him for a moment before crawling across the couch and stretching her small body out on top of him and laying her head just under his chin as she turned to watch the movie. Peter reached down and pulled the t-shirt blanket over both of them and then gently placed one hand against her back and used the other to slowly smooth her bangs back from her forehead. He repeated the motion until he felt Morgan's breaths even out in sleep and peaked down to confirm that her eyes were closed.

He smiled at the sight before putting a soft kiss to the top of her head. Mr. Stark had also used the hair trick to get him to sleep. He wondered if May had told him about his weakness. She had been doing that to him since he was small to put him to bed. Parents are sneaky. Not that be thought of Mr. Stark as his parent. He just acted like a parent, er, had parenting skills.

Peter shook the thought from his head and asked Friday to pause the movie. The AI did so and then switched to Brooklyn 99 reruns on low volume. "Thanks, Friday," he whispered. He and Mr Stark used to watch the show together.

He pulled out his phone from his pocket to text Pepper an update and send her a picture of Morgan asleep on him.

PeterMan: Morgan ate some Mac n Cheese and chicken concoction with ketchup at her request for an early lunch. I tried it. Not so bad. She introduced me to Gerald (I made sure she put her coat on) and we fed him an apple. I checked her temperature when we went inside and it was 100.5 F so I gave her the children's Tylenol dose you had written out. She took it with the promise of a juice pop reward. And now this is us. (img attached)

Peter decided to text May and Ned as well since he didn't want to accidentally awaken Morgan by moving.

PeterMan: What's up? How is living with your cousins going?

Ned had also been Blipped but his parents had not. When he was returned, apparently his cousins had moved into his house because their parents were Blipped. It was quite the change for an only child.

GuyintheChair: My little cousins use me as a jungle gym and my older ones think I am their servant. If this is what having siblings is like, count me out. Hopefully my aunt and uncle will be able to find a new place soon and take their demon offspring with them.

Peter glanced down at Morgan.

PeterMan: I am sure siblings aren't all bad.

GuyintheChair: That's because you've never had one. MJ would vouch for me on this.

Peter chuckled. Morgan moved a little against him. He rubbed her back a few times before she settled.

MrsIronMan: You have officially been nominated for Best Big Brother Award. I don't know what your secrets are to get her to sleep, but please share them.  
PeterMan: I think she just wore herself out, so you may have to hold off on that award. ;)  
MrsIronMan: Too late, entry was already accepted by the board. I should be home around 9pm. Would you like me to bring you anything? Do you need a break? I can get Happy to relieve you.  
PeterMan: We are fine! But thanks for the offer!  
MrsIronMan: Just let me know if anything changes!  
PeterMan: Will do!

MJonesing: Ned's right. Unless you are able to train them when they are young.  
PeterMan: This young? (img attached)

GuyintheChair: OMG IS THAT IRON MAN'S DAUGHTER? ARE YOU WATCHING BABY IRON MAN?!!?

MJonesing: You broke Ned. But yes, perfect. It seems you've already completed phase one.

PeterMan: Ned, I told you I was!  
GuyintheChair: I know but seeing it is just crazy! Nevermind, you win the sibling game.  
PeterMan: We're not siblings. I am just babysitting.  
GuyintheChair: Tony Stark has done everything but officially adopt you. Do you not remember when he showed up at school with lunch for you? And he said May had texted him you forgot yours? If that doesn't scream Dad Vibes I don't know what does.

Morgan made a non-verbal noise and squirmed for a moment. Peter shushed her softly and she relaxed. 

MJonesing: Tony Stark totally has Dad Vibes around you.

Peter rolled his eyes and put both MJ and Ned on a group text since they were already clearly sharing the conversation with each other.

PeterMan: He just did that because he fears May's wrath.  
MJonesing: IronMan is afraid of your Aunt? I already love her.  
GuyintheChair: Peter's Aunt is legit scary when she wants to be. He has a right to fear her. But shut up, Peter! He does lots of things with you without any prompting from May.  
PeterMan: That's for the internship!

TheAuntMay: I swear I am just going to have a photo album of Morgan sleeping on you. I second Pepper's nomination for Best Big Brother Award. Let me know if you need anything! You could be a handful when you were sick at that age!  
PeterMan: Do you and Pepper share everything now??  
TheAuntMay: When it involves our kids, absolutely!

GuyintheChair: Oh yes, every internship involves movie nights, teaching their interns how to drive, and helping with homework.  
MJonesing: That's a Parent™, Peter.  
GuyintheChair: Yah Peter, just accept your fate. You are Iron Son.  
MJonesing: You're both losers.  
PeterMan: I think you're blowing this out of proportion. Anyway, Morgan's waking up - I got to go!  
GuyintheChair: Yes, attend to your Iron Sibling.  
PeterMan: ><

UnHappy: Quit showing your Aunt photos of you and Morgan. It makes her get weepy.  
PeterMan: Tell Pepper! It wasn't me!

TheAuntMay: Don't listen to Harold! Send me every photo! And he is the misty-eyed one. What a softie.  
PeterMan: Are we talking about the same person?

Peter chuckled at the messages. Morgan lifted her head at the movement than laid it back down without even opening her eyes.

After about another 30 minutes, Morgan awoke for real and decided she wanted to show Peter her room. He shuffled her towards the bathroom since she just woken up and wet a washcloth to wipe the sleep from her eyes, then waited outside the door until he heard a toilet flush and the faucet turn on and off.

Morgan scrubbed at her eyes some as she walked out of the bathroom then tugged on Peter's hand to lead him to her room. 

"Our rooms are right next to each other," she said by way of explanation as she pushed open a door.

"Our rooms?" 

"Yes, this is your room," she paused to look up at him. Peter glanced around at the blue walls and sparse furniture. 

"I think this could be anyone's room, Mo. Like a guest room."

Morgan shook her head emphatically. "No, Daddy said this is your room. The guest room is down the other hall."

She tugged on his hand again to get him to follow her to the room next door. She pushed it open and proudly said, "And this is my room."

He was pulled towards the middle of the room as she sat on the bed and started pointing out her stuffed animals by name. He gazed around the room and smiled at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling and Iron Man night light plugged into the wall. He tuned her back in after a moment.

"...And this is Cow-e, Noel and Leon, Blaze, and Bandit."

Peter hoped there wasn't going to be a quiz. "Those are all really good names." Morgan smiled. Peter went to sit next to her on the small bed. He glanced at the night stand that had a few photos on it. He froze for a second when he actually saw what they were. There was one of Pepper and Tony sitting on a porch swing together. Pepper had her feet tucked up under her and her head on Tony's shoulder. They looked like they were laughing about something together. Then there was a smaller photo next to it. Of Peter. He also looked like he had been laughing at something right before be turned to face the photographer. Peter was trying to remember the moment. It was in the apartment he and May used to have, and May had surprisingly invited Tony over for dinner for Peter's birthday. It had been a great night.

Morgan followed his gaze to the photos. "Daddy said I should have happy family pictures to look at incase I ever have a bad dream and wake up feeling scared."

"Oh." Peter didn't know what to say. So he just swallowed down the knot in his throat. And changed the subject before his heart beat out of his chest.

"Aunt May said you're really good at drawing. Can you show me some of your pictures?"

Morgan ran to grab a stack of papers off the desk on the other side of the room before speeding back next to Peter and plopping down next to him to explain every one.

Peter smiled at the colorful images. Morgan had a pretty good attention to detail for a kid. She drew a decent replica of his Spider-Man logo. He laughed out loud when he saw the frown drawn on Happy. 

Morgan uncovered her last drawing. "I made this one for you." It was a picture of two not quite stick people labeled as Me and My Brother in the inconsistent letter sizes associated with someone just learning to write. "This is when we went to the zoo and you gave me your ice cream after I dropped mine." Peter saw the pink smude and upside down cone next to the girl figure and the cone in her hand.

"You did a really good job, Morgan." Her face lit up.

"Thanks, Peter. You're doing a good job too." Peter just pulled her into his side.

"I hope so," he whispered into her hair.

After Morgan showed him all the treasures in her room, Peter figured it was time to try and get Morgan to eat again. She wanted a banana, peanut butter, and honey sandwich so he worked on getting that together while she nestled back into the couch and resumed her movie. While she watched the bunny and dog try to save their friends, Peter checked her temperature again. 99.9 F. Much better.

Peter didn't know what he was going to do to entertain Morgan as they still had a few hours left before Pepper would be home when the movie ended. "Do you want to watch another movie?"

She shook her head.

"Draw?" Another no.

"Nap?" Definite no accompanied by a scowl.

"Play a game?" That peaked her interest.

"What game?"

"Do you have any board games or puzzles?"

"We have lots!" Morgan scampered off the couch to open a closet door that had stacks of board games, puzzles, and activity books.

"Which do you want to play?" Morgan grabbed a rather large bucket from the corner of the closet and started dragging it towards the coffee table. "Daddy said you like Legos. We have lots of Legos! Will you build something with me?"

"Of course!" How did he get so lucky? "What do you want to build?"

Morgan ran back towards her room then reappeared with some small animal figurines.

"They need a castle and a water park and a space station," she said with all the seriousness a preschooler is able.

"Okay you tell me what you want do first and I will follow your lead." 

Morgan grinned as she dumped the bucket over.

Two hours later and Peter learned that Morgan was definitely Tony's child. She was very imaginative and had great spacial awareness and could be very focused on a task. Peter suggested they move their city to the kitchen table as they were running out of room. Not only did they have a castle, water park, and space station, but they now had an enchanted forest, a library, and a circus.

Peter could see Morgan was winding down because she kept pausing to scrub at her eyes and every other sentence ended in a yawn. Peter checked the time. Definitely bed time. Pepper had warned him that she might refuse but not to worry if she was still up when she got home. 

But Peter was up for the challenge.

"Hey Morgan, I think we did a really good job. Your mom is going to be so impressed when she sees this, but I think your animal friends are getting tired."

Morgan scrunched up her face. "They are?"

"Yah, look, they are all laying down." Morgan raised her eyebrows when she looked at where all the animals she had brought out were in their beds, Peter having moved them while Morgan was focused on building a spaceship.

"We shouldn't disturb them."

Morgan looked a little non-plussed for a moment before nodding her consent. "Okay."

"Let's put up the Legos we didn't use so nobody steps on them" - May and Ben had trained him to do that at an early age after they impaled their feet one too many times - "and go in your room so we don't wake them with any noise."

"Okay," Morgan blinked sleepily.

Peter ushered her towards a room but had her stop at the bathroom. When she was finished, he suggested she brush her teeth too. "But I'm not going to bed."

"Oh, I know, but I think I saw something stuck in your teeth and if we don't get it out it will make a hole."

"A hole?"

"Yes, it will burrow into your gums and make a big pocket. So we have to get it out."

Peter put some toothpaste on the Hulk toothbrush at the sink and handed it to Morgan.

"Now open wide so I can tell you where it is and you can brush there to make sure you get it out."

Morgan complied by opening her mouth comically wide accompanied with an "Ahhhh" so Peter could inspect her mouth.

"Oh! There it is! Bottom right side of your mouth!" Morgan hurriedly scrubbed.

"Well now it moved to the top left." The toothbrush shifted upwards.

"I think it jumped to the front of your teeth." Morgan bared her teeth as she vigorously brushed.

Peter continued to 'see' the mysterious thing move all over her mouth until he felt she had hit every tooth.

"Whew, good job! You got it. That was a close one!" 

Morgan stepped onto the stool to spit into the sink. "What was it?"

"I don't know. You brushed it away."

Morgan washed her mouth out and then wiped it on her sleeve.

"Do you have any good books to read, Morgan?"

"I have lots! Come see!" Morgan latched onto Peter's hand and tugged him into her room.

She showed him her bookshelf which was stacked full. "Would you like to read one to me?" Peter wasn't even sure if she could read but he figured he could help her out if needed.

"Yes!" She pulled a book off a shelf and scrambled onto the bed looking expectantly at Peter. He went to sit beside her and she leaned into him as he silently read the title of the book, A Family is a Family is a Family. "Daddy read this to me when I was really small" - Peter smiled to himself, she was still really small - "when he told me I had a brother." He felt like he was developing a heart condition.

It turned out Morgan was a very good reader. She finished that book and then climbed out of bed to grab three more. She read another one about a bunny whose parent bunny always found it no matter where it hid, a kid exploring snow ("His name is Peter, too!"), and a toy rabbit that comes to life.

Towards the end of The Velveteen Rabbit, Peter took over reading as Morgan had started taking longer in between sentences as she fought against the sleep her body so clearly wanted. By the time the story had ended, she had nestled down into a position more apt for sleeping and wasn't showing any signs of stirring. Peter carefully extracted himself from her side and went into the living room to grab her t-shirt blanket to put over her. He wasn't about to take the risk of waking her while trying to maneuver her under the covers.

He had just reached over to turn off her light when he saw her blink blearily up at him, "I love you, Peter."

"I love you too, Mo," he whispered back. She closed her eyes and drifted back off. He flipped the switch and then just set on the floor next to her bed. He turned to his side and laid his head on his arm while he tried to sort through all the emotions in his head.

When Pepper got home, she was surprised not to see the kids in the living room. She slipped out of her shoes and hung up her coat after depositing her purse on a side table. Happy was waiting in the car to drive Peter home, so she went to free him from his rambunctious sister.

She smiled when she saw all the lego buildings on the kitchen table. She softly padded down the hall and opened the door to Morgan's room. Her daughter was fast asleep under her favorite blanket. And just next to her on the floor, her brother was sleeping with his head pillowed on his arm on the bed, looking like he drifted off staring at her.

She snapped a picture on her phone and added it to the "Sleeping Babies" group chat.

May: I just can't. How are our kids so sweet?  
Harold: My allergies are just the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided I should try to squeeze another chapter out before my work schedule overtakes my life again.
> 
> If I have any continuity errors, please point them out. I know I probably made a million errors and don't mind being told so, because then I can fix them!
> 
> I hope this chapter is enjoyable. I had fun writing it. And I hope my tiny references to time passing made it somewhat clear that it has been three months and Tony is still in the hospital!
> 
> For everyone that comments: Oh my gosh you make my day. And when you point out your favorite parts, you make my week!  
> For everyone that kudos: Thank you so much!  
> For everyone that reads this: Thanks for giving this story a chance!


	6. Car Pool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy is basically a soccer mom.

When Tony had asked Happy to pick Peter up from school on lab days, he had thought that nothing could be worse that transporting a forever enthusiastic talkative teenager. At least he had the partition to put up. And after time, Peter seemed to realize when he needed to rein it in a little bit whenever Happy's scowl started to deepen.

That was several years ago, so Happy doesn't know if time had just softened his memory of being in the car with the kid, or he just wasn't prepared for the juxtaposition of the chatty adolescent and the sulking preschooler. Silence was so much worse. 

Morgan had been excited when Pepper had first told her that she would be going to school ("Just like Peter!") but then a little more apprehensive when she realized that she would be in a completely different school across town, meaning she would not be seeing her brother during the day. 

The government and academic world had finally reached a consensus on how they were going to accommodate all the new school age children from the Snap. They had implemented more half day programs in combination with online schooling to make sure everyone had time with a teacher and so they could also physically handle the volume of students. When Peter had told Pepper he would be starting school again and would have to figure out his new schedule to see when he could watch Morgan, Pepper had decided it would be good for Morgan to start interacting with kids her age as well. She had picked a school in the city that had a great preparatory program for preschoolers. Plus, it had the bonus of a very strict security regimen. Happy knows the reporter at the hospital had made Pepper a little nervous.

The first week of school involved a lot of tears from Morgan. She would beg Pepper to let her stay with her in the office whenever she was dropped off in the morning. Happy could see that Pepper was taking it hard even though she had been reassured by the teachers that this was normal and that it would get easier as Morgan adjusted. Pepper was still working whenever Happy picked Morgan up from school and would take her to get something to eat before dropping her off with her mom. 

This week, there weren't any tears in the morning. Just a reluctant dragging of the feet to the school from the car and a mumbled bye. Happy couldn't tell if that was an improvement or not. Pepper had told Happy that Morgan was also suffering from what she had dubbed "Peter Withdrawal." After spending pretty much everyday of the last few months with her new favorite person, and then not seeing him at all, she wasn't in the happiest of moods.

"You know, I could probably ask May if Peter has any time off coming up. I am sure the kid wouldn't mind doing something with Morgan." Happy glanced in the rearview mirror as they drove away from the preschool.

Pepper sighed. "I was thinking the same thing. I know Peter has a lot to catch up on since he essentially missed out on half of a school year, so I was trying to give him some time to settle back into the routine of things. Maybe I could just see if he would be okay with Morgan calling him. That might perk her up some. I talked to May about Morgan's meltdowns the first week of school and she said when Peter was little, he adjusted a lot better after he made a friend. But I don't know if Morgan is making any friends. She talks about the kids in her class, but it doesn't really sound like she spends time with anyone particular. I don't know what to do Happy."

Pepper looked pensive as she stared out the window. Happy didn't know what to do either, but having to tote around a morose little girl during the week was bothering him more than he wanted to admit. She didn't even get excited when he got her a cheeseburger the other day.

"I cannot believe I am offering this, but maybe I could pick up the kid after school as well and they could spend a little time together that way? I know he likes to do the Spider-Man thing as soon as he gets out of class, but I know he never turns down food so I could take them both to eat or something." 

Pepper caught his eye through the rearview mirror with an accompanying smile. "I think that is a fantastic idea."

Happy had found out from May that Peter got out of school about an hour before Morgan did which worked out perfectly. It gave him time to get from one carpool pick-up line nightmare to the next while fighting the never ending traffic of New York. May said Peter was all for the "free ride and food" and admitted he missed seeing Morgan as well.

Happy picked Peter up for the first time in five years on a Thursday and thought nostalgia had some nerve because he got this weird little lump in his throat when the kid slid into the backseat and proceeded to ask him a million questions.

"Where is Morgan's school? Do you know what we are going to eat? Have you heard anything new with Mr. Stark? I mean I just saw him last night but maybe Pepper mentioned something? And did you know they are making me retake my midterms because it has 'been five years' - it hasn't been for me! And - "

Happy took a deep breath and closed the partition with a smile.

When they got to Morgan's school there was already a mile long line for pick ups. School hadn't let out yet, but Happy told Peter that it would probably be another 20 minutes before they made it to the front of the school. They could just barely see the entrance doors from where they were on the street.

"I can just go meet her up there if that's okay? That way we don't have to wait. Or do you have to sign her out? I don't remember how strict schools are with little kids," Peter queried.

"She just has to recognize you. All the teachers have a list of people authorized to pick up the kids, so if she can tell them your name, it's fine."

"Am I on the list?" Peter looked surprised.

"Yes, Pepper has you, May, and Rhodey listed besides herself and me. And Tony." He said the last part with a grimace. "Just in case there was an emergency or something."

They both digested the possibility of Tony never being able to pick up Morgan for a moment.

Peter nodded quietly and slipped out the door to walk up to the front of the school. He stood by one of the benches along the school entryway and waited for Morgan to appear. They were just close enough that Happy was able to recognize Morgan as the teachers filed out with their students. Morgan was at the back of the line and looked every bit as gloomy as when she was dropped off this morning. He saw her walk up next to the teacher as she always did to wait for Happy. Peter must have called her name because she whipped her head to the side and he heard her exclamation of "PETER!" as she ran and launched herself at him. Peter caught her easily and Happy saw the first real smile on Morgan in a week. Peter held her on his hip as he walked towards the teacher who had a soft expression on her face. He assumed Morgan was explaining who Peter was as the teacher smiled and nodded. Morgan had her hands fisted in Peter's shirt in a death grip but was talking very animatedly. The teacher marked something off on a clipboard and waved bye to the pair as Peter started walking back to the car.

Peter stooped to get into the car while holding Morgan with one arm and his other hand on the top of her head to make sure she didn't bang it on the doorway. Peter was nodding at Morgan with wide eyes but an earnest expression while he maneuvered her into her booster seat and she started her interrogation.

"I missed you so much, Peter! Are you going to come with me to Mommy's office?"

"I am happy to see you too, Morgan! I know I am going to get something to eat with you, but then I have to go patrol for a bit so I won't be going to SI with you." At Morgan's forlorn expression, Peter was quick to add, "But we could probably do something this weekend together! I have mostly caught up with school work, so you and I can go do something in the city if you want." Morgan immediately perked up at this.

From the brief glance Happy took of the back seat as he drove, he could see that Morgan still had one hand bunched in the fabric of Peter's shirt like he might disappear if she let go. At least she was talking and acting like herself again and had come out of the great Morgan Mope™.

"How was school?" Peter watched Morgan as her brows furrowed.

"I don't like school," she answered in a grumble.

"Why don't you like school?" Happy asked as he merged into another lane.

Morgan frowned at the question and then her face fell as she mumbled something. Happy had no idea what she said but Peter heard her just fine.

"Why doesn't anyone want to play with you?" Peter's voice was soft and Happy could hear the concern in his question.

Another mumble.

"Well that's just silly. You will learn the longer that you are in school that it doesn't matter what other kids think is cool or not. If people don't like you for who you are, they're not the type of people you want as friends. I think you are great just the way you are."

Morgan gave a shy grin. "Thanks, Peter."

Happy felt the corners of his lips quirk up. 

The kids had voted on going to a pizza place that sold by the slice or the pie which works great when one has a super metabolism and the other eats like a bird. Happy tried to find something on the menu that wouldn't give him heart burn while Morgan glued herself to Peter's side and started telling him about they were learning in school. The host that had seated them brought an activity sheet and some crayons over to Morgan while they gave their order. Morgan requested one slice of cheese pizza, extra cheese please. Peter ordered a large pepperoni and Happy went with the house salad which got him a raised eyebrow from the aforementioned kid.

"What? I can be healthy."

"Didn't doubt it." Peter smirked.

Peter sipped on his soda while he watched Morgan do a puzzle on her paper looking like he was contemplating something.

"Do you all have recess, Morgan? Or some time where you get to play outside?"

Morgan nodded as she navigated her crayon through a maze. "Yes. There is a playground and swing set and monkey bars."

"Do you know what time you go?"

Morgan's forehead scrunched for a moment as she chewed on her lip. "Umm, I think around noon? Right before lunch."

Peter smiled, "Good to know." Morgan grinned in response.

Happy gave a questioning look to Peter at his strangely specific inquiry, but Peter just casually shrugged his shoulders.

Morgan looked up at Peter from where she was wedged against his side.

"Do you have recess?"

"Um, not really. We do get breaks, kind of. It is called Study Hall and it just means you can work on whatever you want to."

"So you don't go outside?"

"No, the teachers prefer we stay in our assigned room."

"Sounds boring."

Peter laughed. "Yah, it can be."

The waiter arrived with their food a few minutes later. She set Morgan's plate down in front of her. "Careful, it's hot, sweetie."

Peter grabbed Morgan's hand as she reached for the plate. "Hey, she just said it is hot. I know you are hungry. Just blow on it for a bit first."

Morgan started to blow on the slice of pizza in the exaggerated manner kids rely on with birthday candles.

The waiter smiled at the pair. "You sure are lucky to have such a nice brother looking out for you. I think mine would have let me burn my hand when I was your age."

Morgan shrank into Peter's side at the attention while his cheeks reddened at the comment as he put a comforting arm around Morgan's shoulders.

On the ride to Pepper's office, Morgan fell asleep much to Happy's surprise. Maybe it was the post-adrenaline crash after her surprise with Peter. Pepper had told Happy the teachers at her preschool had given up trying to get her to sleep during nap time and instead let her read a book to herself quietly while her classmates slumbered.

Happy was drawn out of his train of thought when Peter suddenly spoke up from the back seat.

"Um Happy, it's okay if you can't, but I wouldn't mind if we did this a couple of times a week. You don't have to get me food or anything. I just, I mean, Morgan seemed really excited and she just looked so sad at school, and -," Happy cut him off mid-ramble.

"Kid, it's fine. What days work for you? Morgan will be thrilled. And shut up about food. Pepper would murder me if I didn't get you something to eat."

Peter's posture seemed to relax at the admission. "Could we do Tuesdays and Thursdays?" 

"Sure, no problem."

When they arrived at Stark Industries, Happy was surprised when Peter got out of the car and went around to the other side and started unbuckling an oblivious Morgan's seat belt, before picking her up. Morgan didn't even stir, just unconsciously burrowed her face in Peter's sweater.

"I can get her, kid. I know you probably want to go spend some time in the suit." 

Happy made a motion to transfer Morgan to him, but Peter just started walking towards the building entrance while he called over his shoulder, "Oh I don't mind. I can take her up to the office. I feel like she will be upset if I don't tell her bye."

Happy smirked, "You're probably right."

  
When they walked through the doors to Pepper's office on the top floor of the building, she looked up from her desk and went from looking surprised to concerned to tentatively pleased. As she got up from her seat to walk over to the trio, she asked softly, "Is she okay?" indicating her passed out daughter.

Peter was quick to reassure her, "Yes, she's just sleeping."

"Fell asleep on the way here," Happy chimed in.

Pepper's eyes widened. "Wow. I almost don't want to wake her but she won't sleep tonight otherwise."

Pepper started rubbing Morgan's back gently while she was still in Peter's arms. "Hey baby, time to wake up. I know Peter has stuff he needs to do and I know you don't want to miss visiting Daddy."

Morgan scrubbed her face against Peter's shoulder as she woke and then rubbed her eyes as she started blinking blearily. 

"Mommy?"

Pepper gently lifted her from Peter's arms into her own. "Hi, sweetheart. Did you have fun with Peter?"

Morgan's eyes widened comically as she looked around quickly as if she had forgotten about Peter's presence. Peter waved at her from where he was a few feet away. She smiled before turning her attention back to her mom.

"Yes, he picked me up from school. And then we had pizza."

"Sounds like a good day," Pepper smiled.

"Well I have to go now, but I will see you this weekend, uh, if that's okay with your mom?" Peter quickly amended.

"Of course, Peter. Just let me know what works for you." Pepper looked amused.

"Bye, Peter," Morgan said less dejectedly than Happy was expecting.

"Bye, Mo," Peter waved again and then was bounding out the office doors.

"Does he need a ride?" Pepper frowned at Happy as she turned her attention towards him.

"I offered, but the kid said he would rather just get more time in the suit." Happy shrugged.

"I see. Well let me pack up some paperwork and then we can head to the hospital." Pepper set Morgan on the ground as she went to organize the stuff on her desk.

Morgan reached up to grab Happy's hand as he walked over to her side.

"Is Peter going to pick me up everyday?" She looked up hopefully.

"Not everyday, but he said he can Tuesdays and Thursdays. So you will still see him a lot since he says you all can do something on the weekend too."

Morgan seemed appeased by this answer.

After about 15 minutes, Pepper had gathered all the stuff she would need from the office and they were about to head down to the car, when everyone turned their heads at the unmistakable THUD heard against the window.

Spider-Man was clinging to the outside of Pepper's office window. Morgan immediately let go of Happy's hand and ran over to it. Spider-Man crawled down until he was at her level and then waved.

"Hi Peter!" Morgan exclaimed.

Happy and Pepper stepped up behind her, smiling at her enthusiasm.

"Don't forget, Morgan, whenever you see Peter in his Spider-Man suit, you have to refer to him as Spider-Man. Remember when your dad talked to you about no one knowing besides a few people that Peter is Spider-Man? It is a very important secret we have to keep. Even though we all know it is Peter, it is better to get into the habit of calling him Spider-Man so we don't accidentally say his name in front of anyone else." Happy gently reminded her.

Morgan nodded with a very serious expression on her face before turning back to Spider-Man.

Spider-Man gave her a thumbs up before leaping away from the building in a complicated twist and diving downwards. Morgan pressed her face against the window to try to see where he went before a web shot past and he came back into view swinging towards another building and then out of sight.

"Bye, Spider-Man."

When Happy picked Morgan up from school the next day, he was afraid she might be back to the gloomy preschooler that had been present the past couple of weeks. Instead she practically skipped out the school doors and was talking with a few other kids from her class as he slowly made his way up line of cars. In fact, all the kids seemed really wound up today, at least more so than he usually observed. He knows they didn't go on a field trip because Happy would have been chaperoning… and Morgan hadn't mentioned any upcoming event. Pepper hadn't gotten any notification from the school about anything. Weird.

Morgan was all smiles when she got into the back seat of the car as Happy rolled down the window to wave at her teacher. As she was strapping herself into her car seat, Happy looked at her in the rearview mirror and cautiously asked, "Did you have a good day at school?"

"The best!" 

"Well that's nice. Did you all do something special today?" 

Happy started to pull out of the line once Morgan was safely buckled in, and almost side-swiped a car when she replied, "Spider-Man came to see me!"

"He what?" Happy said as he quickly straightened the car and pulled into the main road. "Spider-Man was at your school?" Oh, he was going to kill the kid. Better yet, May was going to kill him. Skipping class to be Spider-Man, that was a big no-no.

"Yes! He came by at recess!" Morgan was practically bouncing in the back seat.

"And did he do or say anything?" Happy's hands were gripping the steering wheel a little tighter than necessary as he maneuvered through traffic. Entertaining a bunch of preschoolers was definitely not a good reason to miss class. Even though Morgan was super happy he admitted to himself…

"Yes, he said we should be nice to each other. And that only bullies make people feel bad about themselves."

Maybe he wouldn't get in too much trouble.

"And he did some flips for us and gave everyone a high five. But he gave me a hug!"

Maybe just a stern reminder.

"And now everyone is asking me to play with them!"

Oh god, he needed to call May before the school told her Peter had missed class.

Tony's kids were going to be the death of him. He didn't need this type of stress in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was all over the place. I am sorry. I changed it so many times before deciding I am never going to love it and should just post it.
> 
> The good thing is I have a better outline for the rest of the story!
> 
> Thanks so much for all of your kudos and comments! Thanks for giving this story a chance!
> 
> I know I take forever to update, but I am definitely going to finish this story!


	7. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beauty rest is over.

Waking up was very slow and all at once at the same time. 

His mouth felt gummy and it was hard to swallow. His eyelids felt like they were weighed down with cement. He could get them open a crack, just enough to see a blur of color before they would fall shut again. He knew he was laying down and could feel the weight of blankets against his body. Something was under his left hand. He couldn't feel his right. The right side of his face felt kind of tight when he opened his mouth and eyes. There was a steady humming from machines nearby and the room felt chilled.

After about the fifth battle of trying to see where he was, Tony finally managed to keep his eyes open. He kept blinking rather slowly as he fought against the fog in his brain that just told him it would be so much easier to go back to sleep. He wanted to feel the right side of his face to see why it felt so tight, but when he tried to move his right arm nothing happened. He looked down towards his right side to see if he could see his fingers twitch and - there was nothing. Tony turned his head forward again and blinked. Then he looked back down to where his right arm was - should be. Still nothing. Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And then he turned to his right shoulder and looked at the empty sleeve. 

Okayokayokayokay.

Definitely no arm. He felt his breathing start to pick up. Might as well do an inventory check. He could move his right toes. Left toes. He definitely had a left arm. He flexed his fingers on his left hand experimentally and shakily picked up the stuffed animal he instantly recognized as Morgan's favorite that it had been resting on. A generic brown dog that had the color rubbed off of its nose and a spaghetti stain on the mouth that almost blended in with its fur. He attempted a smile as he set it back on the bed and closed his eyes. He knew he would be panicking more about his missing limb if he felt like his brain could form a thought for more than two seconds. But he was just so tired. Maybe he would just close his eyes for a few minutes. Just a few minutes before he tried to remember how he got there. Just a few.

He was asleep again before he got a chance to hear the door to his room start to open.

The next time he woke up. His brain was a little less foggy but his eyes were still at war with the concept of being open. It only took him a moment to remember his missing arm.

And a few more minutes for everything to come flooding back to him in an onslaught of memories that had him forgetting to breathe. 

The Stones. The Snap. PeterPeterPeter.

They had won. The kid was back. Tony shuddered as he finally stopped holding his breath. He blinked his eyes open and immediately realized he was not alone this time. Pepper was sitting in a chair off to his left side beside the bed he hadn't noticed last time. She was holding a tablet in her hand and her eyes were wide and round as she stared at him with her mouth agape. 

"Tony?" It was barely more than a whisper.

Tony blinked slowly before he managed a weak "Hey, Pep."

He was very suddenly sharing his space as Pepper choked back a cry and wrapped her arms around him ever so gently as she pressed a kiss to the side of his head. He wanted to return the embrace but when he reached for her he was once again reminded he was down to one arm. After trying to raise his left one up to the side of her head and frustratingly realizing he had no strength, he settled for resting it on her hip.

"Ohmygod, Tony, I can't believe it," Pepper cried as she pressed her face into the side of his neck.

Tony licked his dry lips as he leaned his head against hers, willing his brain to fight the drowsiness that was creeping on him again.

"Where's…?" He started to ask but couldn't manage to get the rest of the sentence out.

Pepper unsurprisingly understood what he was trying to ask.

"The kids are fine. Morgan is with Peter at the dinosaur park." At Tony's questioning eyebrow, she explained with a smile, "He took her to the Natural History Museum last weekend and she is now convinced she is destined to be a paleontologist. Our yard now has about a half a dozen holes, or as our budding scientist will tell you - excavation sites."

Tony huffed out a laugh and smiled in relief. He was quickly losing his battle with sleep though and Pepper noticed. She squeezed his hand, placed another kiss against his temple, and told him, "It's okay to rest. They will be here when you wake up. I am going to go grab the doctor."

Tony closed his eyes and was asleep on his next breath.

Tony was awoken the next time to the feeling of something - or rather someone - crawling onto the bed and the conversation surrounding it.

"Careful, baby, Daddy's still recovering"  
"But you said he was awake!"  
"He just fell back asleep, Mo. Remember when you were sick and slept a lot? He is probably going to be like that for awhile."  
"But he's not sick."  
"You're right, but healing from an injury or an illness still takes a lot of rest."  
"Peter's right, sweetheart, I am sure he will wake back up in a bit."  
"Okay… then can he come home?"  
"Not right away, but soon, hopefully."  
"Speaking of home, I should probably get going."  
"But Daddy isn't awake yet!"  
"I know, Mo, but he probably will be soon and I am sure he missed you so much and will want to spend as much time with you as possible."  
"Peter, honey, he will want to see you too."  
"I know… but I think he will want to spend some time with his kid first, a-and I don't want to take that from him, so I will see him in a bit."  
"Peter, your-"  
"Bye Pepper! Bye Mo! See you tomorrow!  
"Peterrrr!"

The last exclamation was a very distinct wail from Morgan as he heard a door open and close. Never one to sit around while his kid was distressed, he pried his eyes open. She was sitting on his left side staring forlornly at the door.

"Hey Morguna."

Even though he said it softly, Morgan whipped her head towards him and through her arms around home with a tearful, "Daddy!"

He wrapped his arm around her and held her close. He kissed her forehead while she clung to him. "I missed you, baby."

"I missed you too, Daddy. You were asleep for forever! But don't worry, Peter and I took pictures so you can see everything you missed!"

Tony just hugged her closer with a laugh. "That is very considerate of you. Speaking of Peter, where's my other kid?" He directed the last part at Pepper who was sitting on his other side and watching them with a sheen to her eyes.

Pepper sighed. "On his way home. He thought you would want some time with just your kid. He said he didn't want to take that from you."

"But he's my -"

"Preaching to the choir, Tony."

Tony let out a frustrated sigh. That kid. He glanced down at Morgan who was curled into his side and watching him with big eyes.

"Mom said you went to the park with your brother today."

Morgan nodded enthusiastically, "Yep! It was a special park - with dinosaurs! We've never been to one like that before!"

"Have you been to a lot of parks with Peter?"

"We have been everywhere!"

"Where's everywhere?"

Morgan leaned against her dad while she started counting on her fingers, "Central Park, the Bronx Zoo, Coney Island…"

As Morgan continued to name places without slowing down, a cold realization overcame Tony. He quietly turned to Pepper.

"How long was I asleep, Pep?"

She had a sad smile on her face when she said, "It's been six months, Tony."

"What?"

"I told you it was forever, Daddy!"

"It's okay, Tony. It's okay. Just breathe."

"But…," Tony squeezed his eyes closed. Six months? Half of a year? He had missed so much! What day was it? Had Morgan had a birthday? Had Peter?

Morgan noticed her father's change in demeanor and started mimicking her mom by hugging him and saying "It's okay, Daddy. Peter and I have a surprise for you. We still have to add the pictures from today before it is finished."

Tony kissed Morgan's head, "That sounds nice, baby." He hugged her close while he looked at Pepper with a broken expression.

"It's going to be okay, Tony. You're awake now. That's all that matters."

A little while later Tony's eyes started to take longer and longer to open with each blink. Both of his girls kissed him good night and promised to see him in the morning.

Tony was still mostly asleep when he got a visitor several hours later. He didn't rouse completely, but he heard a very familiar but tearful voice say "I'm so happy you woke up, Mr. Stark. I missed you. So much," before he drifted again.

The comforting presence stayed by his bed for most of the night.

As it turns out, there is a lot of work to be done once you've woken from a coma. Tony had a daily regimen with a physical therapist, a neurologist, a dietician, and a plethora of other doctors and nurses revolving through his door. He wasn't able to stay awake more than a couple of hours at a time and he felt that every minute of that was occupied by some hospital employee trying to make sure he was Getting Better. 

Pepper was with him most of the daytime to absorb the updates the doctors were giving him his poor addled brain just couldn't care to focus on. He got to see Morgan for a little bit every evening where she would tell him all about her day at school, or something she did with Peter, or whatever thought crossed her mind. Happy and Rhodey both stopped by several times. He even saw May a few times.

The first thing May said to him whenever she stopped by was, "I tried to get him to come up here, Tony. He doesn't want to take away from time you have with Morgan." At his dismayed look, she reassured him, "Yes, we have all tried to convince him otherwise. And he told me he has been up here several times, just late at night, but he doesn't want to wake you up."

At first, Tony had clung to that information and convinced himself he could stay awake. But apparently his body was making up for years of insomnia and would not let him make it past 9pm before he nodded off. He wasn't supposed to be on any screens so he couldn't even text the kid. 

A few weeks went by before Tony was deemed well enough to continue his recovery at home. He was finally eating enough that he had his stomach tube removed. He could get up to go to the bathroom on his own. Pepper had helped him take his first shower in forever. All of his catheters had been removed and he was finally a free man. With the stipulation that he would get three visits a week from an occupational therapist and regular check ups with his cardiologist.

Morgan was over the moon at having her dad home and gave him a tour of the cabin, as if he hadn't lived there her whole life. He was, however, happily surprised to find that one thing that had significantly changed was the room that had long ago been deemed Peter's (even before he knew he had a chance at getting his kid back, because Tony Stark does not know how to Let Go, thank you very much). Instead of just the plain bed set, there were now signs that the room was very much occupied. The sheets were only half made and there were clothes hanging in the closet. Some papers were stacked under a text book on the desk. There was a half made Lego set on the floor. 

Tony swallowed back the lump in his throat as his daughter dragged him into the room.

"Does Peter stay over a lot?"

"Yes! Sometimes he spends the weekend here when Mommy has to go out of town for work and sometimes I go over to his house! Aunt May and Uncle Happy let us make a fort out of the couches and sheets and watch movies."

Tony had kneeled down next to where Morgan had bent down to pick up some pieces of Lego. She leaned against her father's side as he pulled her close and brushed some hair out of her face.

"Do you have a lot of fun with your brother?"

"Yes! We do lots of stuff together," she nodded happily not taking her eyes off the plastic parts she was assembling. "Oh! We finished your surprise!" Morgan looked at him with her sudden proclamation and scampered off to the kitchen where Pepper was putting together lunch with a hollered "MOMMY! I NEED OUR BOOK!"

Tony got up and set on the edge of the bed and looked around the room one last time with a smile before heading in Morgan's direction.

Pepper had laid out some sandwiches on the counter and apple slices and was making a plate for Morgan when Tony walked in on their conversation.

"But Peter said it was finished and we could give it to him," Morgan whined up her mother as she tugged on her pant leg.

"Don't you want to give it to him with Peter, sweetheart?" Pepper glanced down at her daughter as she poured some juice into a cup.

"Peter said I should give it to dad when he gets home and he is home now," Morgan reasoned.

"Well let's eat lunch first and then we can get it out. We don't want to spill anything on it accidentally."

"Okay…" Morgan conceded as she took a seat at the table.

Tony sat down in the chair adjacent to her as Pepper put the food on the table.

"Hey Morguna, what do you think about Peter coming over this weekend?" 

Pepper eyed him with a knowing smile on her face.

"Yesh, please!" Morgan said around a mouthful of apple and cheese.

Tony pulled out his phone he had finally gotten back and texted a familiar number.

Hey kiddo, we took a vote and decided you need to come stay the weekend at the cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am just as surprised as you are that I updated. I definitely didn't abandon this story, but I was just feeling Uninspired.
> 
> And then I scrapped what I had originally had planned and it just started to flow so much better.
> 
> Let me know what you think! Please point out any weird continuity errors I am sure I have. Grammar errors, etc. I read this through once, so sorry for the mistakes.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!


	8. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets to spend time with both of his kids.

**_Hey kiddo, we took a vote and decided you need to come stay the weekend at the cabin._ **

Peter stared at the message from Tony. Part of him really wanted to go spend the weekend at the Lake House. He had already done so many times when watching Morgan for Pepper while she was out of town or just to keep the energetic little girl occupied while her mom worked from home. The only difference being now is that Tony is finally home. Which was fantastic. 

He had missed Tony so much. He just knew that things were not going to be the same as before. And he wasn't quite sure how to cope with that. He wanted to see Tony. He just wasn't ready for their relationship to be different from what he remembered from less than a year ago. Even though in reality it had been half a decade for Tony. 

Peter felt he and Tony had gotten really close before the first Snap happened. But now Tony had Morgan. Peter hadn't been a part of Tony's life for years now, and it is right that he should move on. He just wasn't quite prepared for how much it was going to hurt when he experienced that change first hand.

Peter adored Morgan. In the six months he had spent caring for and getting to know her, he really did start to feel like the big brother everyone claimed he was. But that didn't mean he was actually her brother. He wasn't Tony's actual son. 

Peter took a breath and pushed his palms against his eyelids as he slowly exhaled. He was being so dumb. He was being stupidly emotional over something he never had any claim to and just needed to suck it up. What was he going to do? Avoid Tony forever?

Peter looked up as he heard the apartment door open from where he was sitting on his bed followed by May announcing her presence. Her footsteps came down the hallway and she popped her head in the doorway, smiling as she observed, "You're home early. Are you hungry? Have you eaten?" Her smile faltered as she noticed his forlorn expression. "What's up? You look like someone kicked the puppy you don't have," she gently teased as she came to sit next to him on the bed.

Peter shrugged. "Tony invited me to the lake house for the weekend," he said quietly. 

May put a comforting hand on his arm. "That sounds like fun, sweetheart." Her eyebrows drew together when Peter just gave a half smile and a simple, "Yah."

"What's the matter, baby? Do you not want to go? You don't have to, but you've enjoyed yourself every other time you've gone. And Pepper has been telling me that Morgan has been asking about you non-stop. Tony too." She squeezed his arm.

Peter seemed a little apprehensive as he mumbled, "You don't think it will be … weird?" 

"Why would it be weird?"

"I won't be in the way?" Another mumbled response.

"Peter, where is this coming from? Generally, when someone asks you to come visit, it's because they want you around." May gave him an encouraging smile.

"I know. I am just being dumb. It's nothing."

"If you say so…" She patted his arm one more time before moving back towards the kitchen. "I am making some stir fry. It will be ready in about 30 minutes if you're hungry."

"Okay, thanks," he called after her.

**_Sounds great. But it is okay if your plans change. I can always have May pick me up early if needed._ **

Tony responded a few minutes later.

**_The only plans I have, is the only one that hasn't changed over the years: Making sure my kid isn't getting into too much trouble._ ** __

Peter felt a lump form in his throat even as he smiled. He definitely was in full Dad Mode with Morgan.

**_Morgan is probably one of the least troublesome kids I have met._ **

Tony's reply was quick _. _

**_I don't expect Morgan will start adding to my gray hairs for about another decade if history is any indication._ **

That fit. He read in a news article that Tony had been pretty wild during his college years, and he started MIT when he was around 15 years old if he remembered correctly.

Peter rolled over on his bed and buried his face in his pillow. He needed to stop being such a baby. It will be like ripping off a band-aid. He will get to see Tony and just have to accept some things change. 

He took a deep breath before pushing himself up and heading into the kitchen to eat with May before going out to patrol. That would help clear his mind. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When Happy dropped Peter and Morgan off at the cabin on Friday after school, Peter felt like he had a block of cement in his stomach. (It didn't help that he had forced down a burger when Happy stopped to get them food as usual for their after school meal since he didn't want anyone thinking he was acting weird. Because he wasn't.) Morgan didn't seem to sense his unease and had told him all about her school day, and her plans for them for the weekend which included playing pirates, having a tea party, playing with legos, making cookies, building a space ship, and swimming. Peter had done his best to engage in the conversation even as his anxiety about his place in Tony's life started to escalate the closer they got to the lake house.

Morgan unbuckled herself from her seatbelt and raced towards where Pepper was waiting on the porch the second Happy put the car in park, yelling "Hurry Peter! Mommy won't let us go swimming once it gets dark." 

Peter grinned at Morgan's enthusiasm and tried to focus on that instead of letting himself get worked up more. He grabbed his back pack (no need to pack a lot for the weekend since he started keeping some clothes at the cabin since he visited so often), took a get-it-together-Parker breath, and bounded after Morgan after thanking Happy for the ride.

Pepper held the door for Peter as he stepped into the cabin. "I will get you two some towels. I already told her she has to come in after an hour. Don't let her tell you otherwise." 

Peter laughed, "Noted."

Pepper must have noticed his searching glance around the cabin and unspoken question on his face. "Tony's just waking up from his afternoon nap. He will be down in a bit," she told him gently.

Peter barely had time to change before Morgan was knocking on his door. "Are you ready Peter? Mommy says we can have hot chocolate and watch a movie with Daddy once we come in!" An "After you shower!" from Pepper followed that proclamation from down the hallway. Morgan scowled at her mother's addition which made Peter laugh as he walked through his doorway and Morgan started dragging him out of the cabin and towards the lake.

"What is so bad about taking a bath? You love playing in the tub." 

"Yah, but we are about to be in water now. Then it is just too much water." Morgan explained as she looked up at Peter with a serious face.

Peter supposed that made sense as he smiled down at her.

  
  
  
  


After Peter wore Morgan out playing Loch Ness Monster (which entailed Peter diving under water and grabbing Morgan's toes and occasionally dunking her while she tried to paddle away in her water wings), or seeing how far he could toss Morgan (not nearly as far as he probably could, but he didn't want her that far away from him in the water, floaties or not), they trudged back up to the patio where Pepper had warm towels waiting for them.

Morgan laughed as Peter shook off like a dog. He quickly padded himself down before proceeding to squeegee as much water out of Morgan's hair as possible with his towel. Morgan just shivered with her own towel wrapped around her like a blanket. Peter decided they should head in once his own teeth started to chatter. "Okay, Mo, let's go get clean, and then we can get some hot chocolate." Morgan nodded and wordlessly requested to be carried by extending her arms toward Peter. He scooped her up onto his hip still wrapped in her towel and attempted to pad her hair dry with his own towel after he opened the door to the entryway and walked in.

  
  


Pepper was sitting on the couch, typing away on a laptop. Tony was laying on the couch next to her, propped up by some pillows, with his feet cushioned against her hip. They both glanced up at the two dripping kids. Pepper smiled and started to move her laptop to get up.

"I can take the Lake Monster for her bath."

"I am not the Lake Monster, Mommy! Peter always plays Nessie. I am a Pirate Princess."

Peter heard a soft chuckle come from Tony at her declaration. He glanced his way and was surprised to see his eyes looked a little watery as he stared at the two of them intensely with so much emotion Peter had to look away for a moment.

"Hey Pete," Tony smiled softly at him.

Peter was saved from responding through the knot stuck in his throat by Morgan's exclamation of "You're awake, Daddy! Are you going to watch a movie with us?"

"After your bath, Pirate Princess," Pepper declared as she plucked Morgan from Peter's arms and stared carrying her pouting daughter towards the bathroom.

Peter watched them trek towards the master bedroom before he picked up the sodden towels from where they had landed on the floor. He started moving towards the guest bathroom when he heard Tony ask after him, "Nessie is it?"

Peter could hear the smile in his voice. "I may have gained a few more secret identities through your daughter while you were recovering," he replied while he deposited the towels in the hamper.

The sound of Tony's laugh warmed him on the way to the shower.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When Peter finally emerged from his probably way too hot shower, Morgan was already settled on the couch with Tony who was sitting up in the middle now. He was leaning slightly against Pepper on his right side, and Morgan was tucked up under his left arm with a cup of hot chocolate between her hands. Peter tried to push down the instant feeling of not-belonging that tried to take hold at the sight of the little family snuggled together on the couch.

Morgan was delighted to see Peter and oblivious to his internal panic of where he should sit. "Peter! Mommy made hot chocolate with marshmallows and sprinkles and we are all going to watch Toy Story."

"That sounds like fun, Mo," Peter replied in a voice that was much more confident then he felt.

"Would you like me to make you some hot chocolate, Peter? I still have it warming on the stove," Pepper asked.

"Um, no thank you. I'm-I'm still a little hot from the shower. But thank you," Peter grimaced as the words left his mouth, hating his sudden stutter and repetitiveness. He quickly made the decision to sit in the oversized arm chair adjacent to the couch before he embarrassed himself more. He used the throw pillow as a cushion for his head against one arm of the chair and sank down with his legs hanging over the other so he could easily see the screen. He could feel Tony's gaze on him from where he sat but couldn't bare to look back at him. He was once again saved from his anxiety by Morgan.

"Let's start the movie!" she declared.

The lights dimmed as Friday started the movie. Peter was halfway paying attention to the opening credits as he tried to stop over-thinking everything when he heard Morgan extricate herself from Tony's arm and walk into the kitchen to deposit her empty mug in the sink. When she came back into the living room, instead of returning to her spot next to her Dad, she walked over to where Peter was laying, climbed up into his lap, and laid down with her head against his chest, right under his chin, so she was angled perfectly for the movie. Peter was used to Morgan's clinginess by now and only moved slightly to help them both get more comfortable as she settled. He grabbed the throw blanket hanging off the back of the chair and settled it over Morgan before loosely putting his arms around her. He didn't extend the blanket over himself because Morgan was basically a personal heater and would make him start sweating if he had too many layers on.

As the toys gathered intel on Andy's gifts, Peter heard Tony whisper to Pepper with soft delight, "Since when did Morgan decide her brother was her new favorite human mattress?"

"About 30 seconds after she met him," Pepper replied just as quietly with a smile in her voice.

"Makes sense," was the happy but hushed response.

Peter didn't turn to look, but he was pretty sure Tony spent the majority of the movie just staring at the two of them in the chair.

Morgan insisted on watching the next Toy Story after the first movie finished and then promptly fell asleep about a third of the way into it. Peter successfully made it to the halfway point until Morgan's steady breaths and the comfort of having Tony nearby brought about his own slumber.

Peter awoke slightly when he heard the couch creak with movement, but was still relaxed enough he could let himself easily drift off again. He heard Pepper tell Tony to "Just let them sleep - they do this all the time. I'm going to go get ready for bed," before her footsteps retreated up the stairs. There was some more shifting from the direction of the couch, a small grunt, and then Peter felt Tony approach them. He felt him pull the blanket up a little more around Morgan and then extend it down over Peter's legs (he was too drowsy to protest). Tony then leaned down and softly kissed Morgan on the forehead before gently brushing Peter's hair back and doing the same to him. A whispered "Good night, kiddos," followed before he walked in the direction Pepper had gone. 

Peter hugged Morgan a little tighter as he drifted off, feeling more at peace than he had in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I know how to write anything besides fluff. Does this story have a plot? Maybe? Is it mostly cute moments between Morgan and Peter? Probably?
> 
> Honestly, I started this story because I love Tony and Peter's relationship SO MUCH. And I think Tony would be elated if Peter and Morgan were as close as siblings (because he sees them both as his kids, you cannot convince me otherwise). But that level of familiarity doesn't develop overnight, so I had to have a reason that they spend a lot of time together. I just really really wanted Tony to have that instance of seeing both of his kids together and he has all of the emotion because he never thought he would get that moment.
> 
> I am sorry this has taken me months to update. And it will be finished at some point! Please point out any continuity errors I have within my own story... It has been so long I had to re-read part of it to catch myself up.... 
> 
> I don't know if anyone is confused about which season this is taking place, but I think Endgame took place in the fall, so 7ish months after that would be late spring/early summer? Whatever, it warm enough to swim.
> 
> Also, I save every single one of your comments in my inbox so I can reread them whenever and they never cease to make me smile. Thank you everyone that has taken the time to read this story and left kudos and commented. You all are amazing.
> 
> One last thing before this comment becomes longer than the chapter of this story, you all get that Peter is an idiot (brilliant, but an idiot) and totally misunderstanding Tony's text messages, right? I didn't know if I made that clear enough.
> 
> Thanks again. Take care. Stay safe.
> 
> Wait wait WAIT. Last thing for real. Check out my bookmarks if you ever are trying to find a new IrondDad story. There are so many amazing authors out there. I will always be elated to point you towards some of my favorites.


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